From Critique to Computational Thinking: A Peer-Assessment-Supported Problem Identification, Flow Definition, Coding, and Testing Approach for Computer Programming Instruction

Scholars believe that computational thinking is one of the essential competencies of the 21st century and computer programming courses have been recognized as a potential means of fostering students’ computational thinking. In tradition instruction, PFCT (problem identification, flow definition, coding, and testing) is a commonly adopted procedure to guide students to learn and practice computer programming. However, without further guidance, students might focus on learning the syntax of computer programming language rather than the concept of solving problems. This study proposes a peer-assessment-supported PFCT (PA-PFCT) approach for boosting students’ computer programming knowledge and computational thinking awareness. A quasi-experiment was conducted on a computer programming course in a high school to evaluate its influence on students’ learning achievement, computational thinking awareness, learning motivation, and self-efficacy. An experimental group of 51 students learned with the proposed approach, while a control group of 49 students learned with the traditional PFCT (T-PFCT) approach. The experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly enhanced the students’ computational thinking awareness, learning motivation, and self-efficacy, while not having significant impacts on their computer programming knowledge test scores.

A Hybrid and Novel Approach to Teaching Computer Programming in MIS Curriculum

This chapter first discusses the opportunities and challenges of computer programming instruction for management information systems (MIS) curriculum, which includes the development of survey instruments and the meaningful integration of information and communication technology. Second, the chapter describes a unique and hybrid computer programming course for MIS curriculum that embraces an assignment-centric design, self-paced assignment delivery, low involvement multimedia tracing instructional objectives, and online synchronous and asynchronous communication. Third, the development and use of a survey is employed as a method to monitor and evaluate the course, while providing an informative discussion with descriptive statistics related to the course design and practice of computer programming instruction. Tests of significance show no differences on overall student performance or satisfaction using this instructional approach by gender, prior programming experiences, or work status. This chapter aims to provide generalizable knowledge to influence the practice in computer programming instruction in MIS curriculum.

The Effects of Mediated Programming Instruction on Preschool Children's Self-Monitoring

The effects of mediated Logo programming lessons on preschool childrens' comprehension monitoring was investigated in this study. Fourteen children of similar language ability, sex, and SES level were randomly assigned to either a Logo programming or a CAI control group. Logo students were presented eleven programming lessons during a three-week period. The CAI control students were exposed to computer games designed to teach prereading and math skills during the same time period. All children were taught individually or in pairs. Childrens' ability to detect embedded errors during a referential communication task was significantly greater after Logo training than after the CAI control training. Marginally significant posttest facilitation was evidenced on several other monitoring indexes for the Logo students. The importance of teacher mediation in computer programming instruction is emphasized in the discussion.