Informal STEM: learning with robotics and game design in an urban context

Newton, Kristie J.; Leonard, Jacqueline; Buss, Alan; Wright, Christopher; Barnes-Johnson, Joy

doi:10.1080/15391523.2020.1713263

Cited by 36 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…One article (Newton et al., 2020) referenced Repenning et al. (2015) as the framework for analysing CT in students’ games but assessed abstraction, algorithms, and learning transfer as factors of CT.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They suggested revision of the framework that would add input and output to CT concepts; user interaction to CT perspectives; and multimodal design, predictive thinking, and the ability to read, interpret, and communicate code to the CT practice dimension. Whether to revise or not, these suggestions revealed that there may still be unknown gaps in the framing of CT. One article (Newton et al, 2020) referenced Repenning et al (2015) as the framework for analysing CT in students' games but assessed abstraction, algorithms, and learning transfer as factors of CT. The authors presented these factors as the summative categories from the CT pattern of Repenning et al (2015).…”

Section: Referential Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Computational Thinking Through an Empirical Lens: A Systematic Review of Literature

Ezeamuzie

Leung

2021

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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This article provides an overview of the diverse ways in which computational thinking has been operationalised in the literature. Computational thinking has attracted much interest and debatably ranks in importance with the time-honoured literacy skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, learning interventions in this subject have modelled computational thinking differently. We conducted a systematic review of 81 empirical studies to examine the nature, explicitness, and patterns of definitions of computational thinking. Data analysis revealed that most of the reviewed studies operationalised computational thinking as a composite of programming concepts and preferred definitions from assessment-based frameworks. On the other hand, a substantial number of the studies did not establish the meaning of computational thinking when theorising their interventions nor clearly distinguish between computational thinking and programming. Based on these findings, this article proposes a model of computational thinking that focuses on algorithmic solutions supported by programming concepts which advances the conceptual clarity between computational thinking and programming.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Referential Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational Thinking Through an Empirical Lens: A Systematic Review of Literature

Ezeamuzie

Leung

2021

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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“…Problem formulation – Newton et al (2020) described abstraction as the sum of activities that learners engage in to formulate solutions to problems before coding. According to Newton et al (2020), students are abstracting when they make decisions about the behaviour of agents in game design before the actual coding. These prior-to-coding activities could take diverse forms, including the decomposition and generalisation of behaviour.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar operationalisation was adopted in a study that examined how students develop CT in informal learning environments (Newton et al, 2020). However, Newton et al (2020) extended the implementation of abstraction as a measure of the usage levels of conditionals (i.e. whether a conditional such as an 'if statement' was unclear, a single-condition comparison or a multiple-conditions comparison).…”

Section: The Operationalisation Of Abstractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unleashing the Potential of Abstraction From Cloud of Computational Thinking: A Systematic Review of Literature

Ezeamuzie

Leung

Ting

2021

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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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 conceptual threads and gain insight into the operationalisation of abstraction, a systematic review of 96 empirical studies was undertaken. Analysis revealed that identifying features of entities, extracting relevant features, discovering patterns, creating rules and assembling the parts together were the core actions of abstraction. With the primary aim of simplifying practical procedures, abstraction was operationalised as the sophistication of a program, the matching of patterns, the creation of alternative representations, the transfer of solutions, the measurement of a learner’s activity and reading program codes. There is an obvious need for researchers to align the conceptual meanings they have established of abstraction with the practical facts of operationalisation. The need to empirically validate emerging models and the implications for future research are discussed.

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“…Its use is most significantly focused on the secondary education stage. Among the benefits of using robotics as a pedagogical resource [25,26], we may indicate the improvement of autonomy, creativity, attention, and social relations in students. In addition, it generates more motivating learning contexts, so that students can look for solutions and alternatives to the different questions or doubts they may have in class in a self-regulated manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Makey Makey as an Interactive Robotic Tool for High School Students’ Learning in Multicultural Contexts

et al. 2020

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) are immersed in the teaching and learning processes. Specifically, educational robotics is a technology with great projection in learning spaces. This educational technology has revealed great potential in educational processes in the scientific literature. In this study, the Makey Makey device has been used to carry out a methodological contrast at the instructional level. The objective of this study is to verify if the use of the Makey Makey robotic device influences various psycho-social and educational dimensions in the subject of physical education. A quasi-experimental research design has been used in a sample of 177 students from secondary education. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The results show the ratings made by the control group students are lower than those of the experimental group in all dimensions, although there is no relationship of significance in all dimensions. This fact only occurs in motivation, teacher–student, student–content, collaboration, resolution, and teacher-rating dimensions. Conclusions show that the teaching method in which robotics is used leads to more success in the field of physical education if we compared it to the more conventional method. The outstanding data show the teaching–learning process has the highest influence on motivation, teacher–student, student–content, collaboration, resolution, and teacher rating.

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Informal STEM: learning with robotics and game design in an urban context

Cited by 36 publications

References 39 publications

Computational Thinking Through an Empirical Lens: A Systematic Review of Literature

Computational Thinking Through an Empirical Lens: A Systematic Review of Literature

Unleashing the Potential of Abstraction From Cloud of Computational Thinking: A Systematic Review of Literature

Makey Makey as an Interactive Robotic Tool for High School Students’ Learning in Multicultural Contexts

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