Active Learning by Visual Programming: Pedagogical Perspectives of Instructivist and Constructivist Code Teachers and Their Implications on Actual Teaching Strategies and Students’ Programming Artifacts

Abstract

The integration of visual programming in early formal education has been found to promote computational thinking of students. Teachers' intuitive perspectives about optimal learning processes – "folk psychology" – impact their perspectives about teaching "folk pedagogy" and play a significant role in integrating educational technologies, such as visual programming, within the formal curriculum. This study was conducted based on the mixed method research paradigm. First, a folk pedagogy questionnaire was distributed to 89 teachers who integrate differing technologies in their classroom in order to identify the teachers' pedagogical perspectives: constructivist versus instructivist. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 teachers who teach Scratch in order to gain a deeper understanding of their instructivist/constructivist perspectives and actual pedagogical practices and strategies. Finally, we analyzed 96 students' programming artifacts to explore differences, if any, in students' outcomes related to the pedagogical perspectives of their teachers. Findings revealed that pedagogical perspectives are reflected in teaching strategies and assessment practices employed in a visual programming environment. It is promising that teaching visual programming promoted constructivist pedagogy even among instructivist teachers and was consequently reflected in student perspectives and expressed in their programming artifacts. We discuss theoretical and educational implications of these findings.

The Effectiveness and Impact of Teaching Coding through Scratch on Moroccan Pupils’ Competencies

“…However, the experimental group showed outstanding coding skills within the scope of the study with a total MPS of 94.32% (outstanding). The study results align with many other studies especially the ones of [17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25].…”

Teaching prototypes and pedagogical strategies in integrating Open Sim‐based virtual worlds in K‐12: Insights from perspectives and practices of teachers and students

“…In discussing teaching-learning-assessment in technologyenhanced K-12 environments, a more recent studies (Hadad et al, 2020;Kesler et al, 2022;Yondler et al, 2018;Yondler & Blau, 2021) revealed four prototypes of teachers that reflect their degree of centrality in the classroom: (1) the teacher as a sage-on-the-stage, (2) a facilitator, (3) a guide-on-the-side, and (4) a partner. Sage-on-thestage refers to a teacher prototype, which is dominant in the learning processes and characterized by a belief that teachers must provide students with clear direct instructions and determine learning activities, with little room for learners' independence.…”

“…For example, the research showed that instructors who adopted student‐centered teaching practices were also found to be more inclined to integrate technology into their instruction (Kale & Goh, 2014; Ruggiero & Mong, 2015). Studies have also demonstrated that teachers adopt different teaching types in integration of technologies in learning environments (Kesler et al, 2022; Prescott, 2014; Quitadamo & Brown, 2001; Weaver & Nilson, 2005).…”

Um Mapeamento Sistemático da Literatura sobre Pensamento Computacional na Perspectiva dos Fundamentos Teóricos de Aprendizagem

“…Ressalta-se que 47 estudos (40,5%) não fizeram menção às habilidades do PC. Um estudo fez uma pesquisa envolvendo 89 professores do Ensino Fundamental e Médio e buscou identificar de que forma as estratégias pedagógicas construtivistas e instrutivistas refletemse nos artefatos elaborados pelos alunos [27]. As tarefas foram realizadas utilizando a programação visual com o Scratch, onde foram experimentadas as habilidades do PC de abstração, decomposição, pensamento algorítmico, avaliação e a generalização.…”

“…Esand Jeuring[63], Franklin et al[22], Salac et al[56], Troiano et al[62], Ng and Cui[40], Mukasheva and Omirzakova[37], Salac et al[55], Grizioti and Kynigos[23], Butler and Leahy[10], Jiang and Wong[25], Kesler et al[27], Morales-Urrutia et al[35], Wong and Cheung[69], Saxena et al[58], Rijke et al[52], Borges et al[7], Pellas and Peroutseas[46];(2) Mediano: Fowler et al[21], Kesselbacher and Bollin[28],Petrie[48], Repenning and Basawapatna[51], Mladenović et al[33], Monteiro et al[34], Piedade et al[50], Chongo et al[12], Díaz-Lauzurica and Moreno-Salinas[17], Grover et al[24], Sáez-López et al[53]; (3) Superficial: Feldhausen et al[18], Merkouris and Chorianopoulos[31], Clarke-Midura et al[13].…”