Background and Context: Block-based programming is a popular approach to teaching introductory programming. Block-based programming often works in the context of microworlds, where students solve specific puzzles. It is used, for example, within the Hour of Code event, which targets millions of students. Objective: To identify design guidelines…

This study aims to explore the influences of the CS-unplugged activities in developing problem solving skills of preschool children. The participants were 11 children (4-5 aged) enrolled in a public preschool and Code.org activities were used as an instructional package. Activity evaluation form and interviews were used to understand children's…

Whereas hackathons are widespread within and outside academia and have been argued to be a valid pedagogical method for teaching interdisciplinarity, no detailed frameworks or methods are available for conceptualizing and organizing educational hackathons, i.e., hackathons dedicated to best achieving pedagogic objectives. This paper is dedicated…

Computational thinking (CT) has emerged as an important method in the United States for helping children learn to solve complex problems and develop skills necessary for coding and other computer science-related endeavors. Research has revealed that CT can be encouraged with children as young as 3-4 years of age. While some preschools and schools…

Facilitating Computer Science Unplugged (CS-unplugged) activities with reflective thinking activities lead students to in-depth reviews of their decisions and think of ways to solve the CS-unplugged problems. This study aims to evaluate the instruction enriched with reflective thinking activities to develop computational thinking skills. The study…

In programming problem solving activities, sometimes, students need feedback to progress in the course, being positively affected by the received feedback. This paper presents an overview of the state of the art and practice of the feedback approaches on introductory programming. To this end, we have carried out a systematic literature mapping to…

Despite increased interest in integrating programming education into K-12 programs, there is a lack of studies on teaching debugging to younger age groups. Therefore, this study proposes practical design components for designing unplugged debugging tasks that affect young learners' debugging performance, problem-solving, and self-efficacy,…

This study aimed to introduce unplugged algorithm activities developed for preschool children and to examine their implementation process. The activities used in the study were designed to support preschool children to develop and apply different solutions to problem situations that require algorithmic thinking and to learn basic algorithm…

Learning how to become a self-regulated learner could benefit students in introductory undergraduate courses, such as computer programming. This study explores the perceived value of instructional and skill-building activities and students' self-efficacy to learn and apply programming skills in an introductory computer programming course. The…

Past efforts to teach novices programming through pair programming and project-based learning utilizing different low floors, high ceilings and wide walls platforms have been successful. Building from related work, this study investigates the effectiveness of Productive Failure (PF) pedagogical design in supporting youth and novices when learning…

Although abstraction is widely understood to be one of the primary components of computational thinking, the roots of abstraction may be traced back to different fields. Hence, the meaning of abstraction in the context of computational thinking is often confounded, as researchers interpret abstraction through diverse lenses. To disentangle these…

Background and context: Transfer is a process where students apply their learning to different contexts. This process includes using their knowledge to solve problems with similar complexity, and in new contexts. In the context of programming, transfer also includes being able to understand and use different programming languages. Objective: This…

In organizations that are seeking a high degree of maturity, it is necessary to achieve a statistical control of software processes and to know their behavior and operational performance. The approach adopted for the research involves reading articles and experience performance reports, practical cases, discussion, the use of games and simulators,…

Higher education has embraced integrative learning as a means of enabling students to tackle so-called "wicked" problems, i.e. problems that are sufficiently complex, contested, and ambiguous that conventional, disciplinary specific approaches are inadequate to address. However, challenges remain in defining integrative learning…

Students completing undergraduate majors in chemistry are not typically required to undergo formal training in computer programming or coding. As a result, many chemistry students are graduating without skills in understanding, writing, or manipulating computer code. This skills gap places students at a disadvantage, considering the widespread and…