This dissertation conducted a science classroom intervention using two instructional approaches, computational modeling and paper-based pictorial modeling, in the context of food webs. A series of research papers were written on the impact of the intervention on students' attitudes and learning, and on teachers via professional development and…

Scratch, a visual programming language, was used in many studies in computer science education. Most of them reported positive results by integrating Scratch into K-12 computer courses. However, the object-oriented concept, one of the important computational thinking skills, is not represented well in Scratch. Alice, another visual programming…

Modern robots, like today's smartphones, are complex devices with intricate software systems. Introductory robot programming courses must evolve to reflect this reality, by teaching students to make use of the sophisticated tools their robots provide rather than reimplementing basic algorithms. This paper focuses on teaching with Tekkotsu, an open…

The needs for life-long learning and the rapid development of information technologies promote the development of various types of online Community of Practices (CoPs). In online CoPs, bounded rationality and metacognition are two major issues, especially when learners face information overload and there is no knowledge authority within the…

Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) is a powerful tool which enables students to move geometric objects interactively. Through experimental simulations with DGS, mathematical facts and background mechanisms are accessible to students. However, especially when those facts and mechanisms are complicated, it is not so easy for some students to record and…

AMOEBA is a unique tool to support teachers' orchestration of collaboration among novice programmers in a non-traditional programming environment. The AMOEBA tool was designed and utilized to facilitate collaboration in a classroom setting in real time among novice middle school and high school programmers utilizing the IPRO programming…

Limitations of formal learning (e.g., one-way communication, rigid methodology, results-oriented approach) can significantly influence the motivation and expectation of students, thus resulting in an academic progress reduction. In order to make learning processes more playful and motivating, this paper presents a new educational experience…

The Testing Algorithmic and Application Skills (TAaAS) project was launched in the 2011/2012 academic year to test first year students of Informatics, focusing on their algorithmic skills in traditional and non-traditional programming environments, and on the transference of their knowledge of Informatics from secondary to tertiary education. The…

We can consider two basic views, when using mathematical software in the teaching of mathematical subjects. First: How to learn to use specific software for the specific tasks, e. g., software Statistica for the subjects of Applied statistics, probability and mathematical statistics, or financial mathematics. Second: How to learn to use the…

Programming and the use of robotics present affordances for mathematics learning with application across a broad range of ages. However, realising these affordances in the classroom requires educators to recognise and build apron these potential opportunities for learning. This paper reports one component of a larger study, examining teacher…

ASCUE, the Association Supporting Computer Users in Education, is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. Begun in 1968 as CUETUG, the College and University Eleven-Thirty Users'…

Aim/Purpose: Research shows that students encounter difficulties in identifying the structure of argumentation texts and in understanding the main message of the argument. The research examined the effect that learning Logic Programming (LP), while applying logic inference, has on students' understanding of argumentation texts. Background:…

In this paper we present a software platform called Chatbot designed to introduce high school students to Computer Science (CS) concepts in an innovative way: by programming chatbots. A chatbot is a bot that can be programmed to have a conversation with a human or robotic partner in some natural language such as English or Spanish. While…

This article explores the feasibility of employing cooperative program editing tools in teaching programming. A quasi-experimental study was conducted, in which the experimental group co-edited the programs with peers using the wiki. The control group co-edited the programs with peers using only the face-to-face approach. The findings show that…

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this paper is to examine whether having female robotics teachers positively impacts girls' performance on programming and robotics tasks Background: Women continue to be underrepresented in the technical STEM fields such as engineering and computer science. New programs and initiatives are needed to engage girls in STEM…