A number of researchers have documented several difficulties faced by learners of basic programming concepts. Among the suggested pedagogical solutions to overcome these difficulties is the use of serious games inthe learning process. In fact, these games are more likely to boost the motivation of students and allow them to develop their knowledge efficiently. Our study focuses on evaluating such usage and the resulting students' motivation towards programming. We've made students create simple games using the Scratch game environment in order for them to learn programming basics. The experiment was conducted with a group of 69 high school science major students. This group of students was arbitrarily chosen and divided into three sub-groups. With the first sub-group we experimented with our pedagogical method based on the creation of simple games using Scratch environment. With the other sub-groups we used a conventional method based on Pascal programming language. Two surveys were distributed at the beginning and at the end of the experimentation in order to identify the programming level of students, their gaming habits, their motivation and interest for programming in the future. The analysis of the surveys shows that using an environment for learning programming such as Scratch highly motivate students and empower them to pursue their studies in programming. In fact, when learners were asked about their desire to continue their studies in programming, 65% of students who have experienced with Scratch environment consider continuing their studies in programming whereas only 10.3% of students who used a standard programming environment showed some interest.
Learning algorithmics and programming fundamental courses is widely considered to be quite challenging in the field of computer science. Gamification is a good alternative educational practice to promote programming teaching, it allows better engagement of students in their learning. Students acquire a reasonable level of abstraction and logic and develop reflections on various course concepts. They are better introduced to critical programming situations. In the present work, we investigated the impact of introducing simple gamified educational sequences within a dynamic programming PHP course on first year Master students in Educational Technology and Pedagogical Engineering (TEIP). Our use of gamification learning sequences based on the application KAHOOT in this course revealed a better engagement of students. 90% of the students in our experimental group expressed being more motivated and committed for the course and 87.5% of them expressed positive attitudes on using KAHOOT as a teaching tool. The majority (90%) expressed their intention to recommend KAHOOT to other teachers.
This article aims at characterizing the digital culture of prospective Moroccan primary school teachers during their training. The study was conducted as a survey on a sample of prospective primary school teachers from Morocco. A descriptive frequency analysis was performed using SPSS. The results show that this digital culture is rooted more considerably in their personal use of different technological tools or resources. The article analyzes the resources of digital culture through the objectives of digital practices of prospective teachers and the motivations underlying their choice of a specific digital tool and practice. The digital practices of prospective teachers are marked by frequent use of social networks and a low tendency to make use of institutional platforms and their trainers’ blogs. The analysis highlights the nature of the environments, services, and digital resources manipulated by prospective teachers during their training. It also sheds light on the role of this digital culture in the content preparation activities of these potential teachers, as well as the resources produced by them and by their trainers. The preparation of pedagogical content often makes use of social network tools, while educational tools are in average use. Finally, the results show that these exchanges are dominated by WhatsApp, Google Drive, and e-mail; however, the use of the WhatsApp application is more prevalent when interacting with trainers.
Chemistry is a science that goes back and forth between phenomenology and abstraction, the macroscopic and the microscopic, which means that understanding the macroscopic involves understanding the microscopic first. Thus, the science of chemical material requires an interest in quantum concepts that should be understood first of all to imagine what happens in the small infinite including the interaction between atoms and molecules. However, this imagination, blocked by epistemological obstacles, may be limited and even muddled. This is because we do not have an optical visibility on these quantum phenomena but simply a mapping that logical, analytical and philosophical reasoning show us. In this context, the conceptualization of these invisible phenomena can occur only if the connections between the macroscopic, the microscopic and the symbolic are well established. Then another liaison is to be considered between the microscopic and the symbolic which represents schematically the concepts of the small infinite that sometimes go beyond the context of logic in the mind of a student and even of an advanced chemist. In this article, the idea is to highlight the difficulties in understanding quantum concepts and to ensure the true concepts of infinitely small phenomena, discussed in the disciplines of chemical matter by quantum concepts, while exposing the results of a case study through a qualitative survey performed on target students.
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