Parallel Instruction of Text-based and Block-based Programming: On Novice Programmers’ Computational Thinking Practices

This study investigated the computational thinking (CT) practices of eight pre-service teachers through their Scratch and Python programs. Conducted within an undergraduate-level computer science education course, students learned CT concepts via parallel instruction in block-based programming (Scra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:TechTrends Vol. 68; no. 6; pp. 1033 - 1050
Main Authors: Jeon, Minji, Kwon, Kyungbin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adult Learning
Cognitive Processes
Computer science
Computer Science Education
Curricula
Education
Educational Environment
Educational Facilities Improvement
Educational Methods
Educational Strategies
Educational Technology
Elementary Secondary Education
Influence of Technology
Instructional design
Java
Learner Engagement
Learning
Learning and Instruction
Message passing
Novices
Original Paper
Outreach Programs
Problem solving
Programming
Programming environments
Programming Languages
Python
School environment
Science education
Science Instruction
Software
Students
Synergistic effect
Syntax
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Parallel instruction
Novice programming
Computational thinking practice
Text-based programming
Block-based programming
ISSN:8756-3894, 1559-7075
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This study investigated the computational thinking (CT) practices of eight pre-service teachers through their Scratch and Python programs. Conducted within an undergraduate-level computer science education course, students learned CT concepts via parallel instruction in block-based programming (Scratch) and text-based programming (Python). The research focused on the synergistic effects of this parallel instruction, investigating how novices’ CT practice evolved while encountering unique features of each environment. Findings indicated that students’ CT practices in one programming environment positively influenced their practices in the other, particularly where syntactic similarities existed. Overall, their strategies for controlling program flow progressed from time-based controls to message-passing controls, and finally to condition-based controls. However, the students demonstrated a lack of abstracting and modularizing skills in their computational problem-solving across both programming environments.
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ISSN:8756-3894
1559-7075
DOI:10.1007/s11528-024-00993-8