From Scratch to “Real” Programming

Armoni, Michal; Meerbaum-Salant, Orni; Ben‐Ari, Mordechai

doi:10.1145/2677087

Cited by 169 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In a study of 10th graders learning C# or Java [1], those who had taken a Scratch course in 9th grade learned more quickly, understood loops better, and were more engaged and confident than their peers who had not. However, in the final test, a significant difference was seen in only one of three cognitive dimensions.…”

Section: Measuring Learning Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

Learnable programming

et al. 2017

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Blocks-based programming has become the lingua franca for introductory coding. Studies have found that experience with blocks-based programming can help beginners learn more traditional text-based languages. We explore how blocks environments improve learnability for novices by 1) favoring recognition over recall, 2) reducing cognitive load, and 3) preventing errors. Increased usability of blocks programming has led to widespread adoption within introductory programming contexts across a range of ages. Ongoing work explores further reducing barriers to programming, supporting novice programmers in expanding their programming skills, and transitioning to textual programming. New blocks frameworks are making it easier to access a variety of APIs through blocks environments, opening the doors to a greater diversity of programming domains and supporting greater experimentation for novices and professionals alike.

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Section: Measuring Learning Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

Learnable programming

et al. 2017

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“…In existing work, we can see many examples of blocks programming being used as an effective approach for teaching computer science concepts to students of all ages within formal education settings [6], [7]. Through representing programmatic constructs as coloured jigsaw-puzzle pieces, this lowers the barriers imposed by textual programming languages such as Java or C++ that are used as introductory languages for novices.…”

Section: The Solution -Blocks?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming mental blocks: A blocks-based approach to experience sampling studies

Rough¹,

Quigley²

2017

2017 IEEE Blocks and Beyond Workshop (B&B)

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Abstract-Experience Sampling Method (ESM) studies repeatedly survey participants on their behaviours and experiences as they go about their everyday lives. Smartphones afford an ideal platform for ESM study applications as devices seldom leave their users, and can automatically sense surrounding context to augment subjective survey responses. ESM studies are employed in fields such as psychology and social science where researchers are not necessarily programmers and require tools for application creation. Previous tools using web forms, text files, or flowchart paradigms are either insufficient to model the potential complexity of study protocols, or fail to provide a low threshold to entry. We demonstrate that blocks programming simultaneously lowers the barriers to creating simple study protocols, while enabling the creation of increasingly sophisticated protocols. We discuss the design of Jeeves, our blocks-based environment for ESM studies, and explain advantages that blocks afford in ESM study design.Index Terms-Visual programming, end-user development (EUD), experience sampling method (ESM) I. THE PROBLEM -PROGRAMMINGThe Experience Sampling Method (ESM) is a research method over three decades old. It involves the repeated assessment of a study participant's behaviours, attitudes and states in their natural setting [1]. Traditionally ESM studies were conducted with pen-and-paper diaries, and an electronic signalling device such as a pager that would notify participants when to complete a diary survey. Today, ubiquitous mobile technology has motivated the development of smartphonebased ESM applications for alleviating researchers and participants from burdens associated with paper-based methods [2]. Such devices are an ideal platform to deliver personalised information to their users at opportune moments, or to collect reports on users' thoughts, feelings or physical symptoms without bringing them to a clinic or research laboratory.In spite of their many benefits, smartphone ESM apps are still notably underused in relevant literature. We recently reviewed 148 publications published in the last three years with 'experience sampling method' or 'ecological momentary assessment' in their title. Of these 148 publications, while 56 used smartphone applications, 46 used PDAs, seven defaulted to pen and paper methods, and others had researchers manually call or text participants. This gives rise to our motivating question here, "How can researchers be empowered to exploit context-awareness, wireless connectivity, and multimodal input possibilities afforded by smartphones?" . This has resulted in efforts to develop free and proprietary tools for researchers to create and deploy ESM study apps. Our view is that for ESM the tools available are yet to strike a balance between high usability by non-programmers, and high functionality of the created apps. II. THE SOLUTION -BLOCKS?In existing work, we can see many examples of blocks programming being used as an effective approach for teaching computer science concepts to ...

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“…Armoni et al [2] looked at the effect of having previously learnt Scratch on the learning of text-based programming. Their results indicated a slight improvement in performance, but also suggested that students with exposure to Scratch were better motivated and learnt more quickly.…”

Section: Transition From Blocks To Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frame-Based Editing

Kölling

Brown

Altadmri

2015

Proceedings of the Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education

133

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Block-based programming systems, such as Scratch or Alice, are the most popular environments for introducing young children to programming. However, mastery of text-based programming continues to be the educational goal for students who continue to program into their teenage years and beyond. Transitioning across the significant gap between the two editing styles presents a difficult challenge in schoollevel teaching of programming. We propose a new style of program manipulation to bridge the gap: frame-based editing. Frame-based editing has the resistance to errors and approachability of block-based programming while retaining the flexibility and more conventional programming semantics of text-based programming languages. In this paper, we analyse the issues involved in the transition from blocks to text and argue that they can be overcome by using framebased editing as an intermediate step. A design and implementation of a frame-based editor is provided.

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From Scratch to “Real” Programming

Cited by 169 publications

References 19 publications

Learnable programming

Learnable programming

Overcoming mental blocks: A blocks-based approach to experience sampling studies

Frame-Based Editing

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