The Effect of Unplugged Coding Activities on Computational Thinking Skills of Middle School Students

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of unplugged coding activities carried out with middle school students on their computational thinking skills. This study employed nested-mixed design, which is a mixed research method; the data were supported by including the qualitative phase into an experimental study. In this frame, a group of 114 middle school students consisting of 5th graders were given coding training titled "Keşfet Project -I Discover Coding" by using unplugged coding content. The Computational Thinking Scale was applied to the students at the beginning and end of the training; the results obtained from the scale were analyzed by means of a paired t test. Finally, it was found out that unplugged coding activities had a positive effect on the improvement of computational thinking skills of the students. An examination of the subfactors revealed that there is statistically no significant change in the problem solving skill despite the positive impact observed on creativity, algorithmic thinking, collaboration and critical thinking skills. Following the analysis of observation and daily data, the findings obtained revealed that the students usually displayed high levels of motivation and class participation in unplugged coding activities, they had difficulty in concretizing certain concepts as well as subjects requiring mathematical knowledge; various teaching methods and techniques were used in classes; the students liked the activities especially due to their appealing nature and their relation to daily life; however, there were occasional problems with scheduling of activities and teamwork due to overcrowded class size; the students experienced problems in achieving outcomes such as perceiving the relationship between computer science and mathematics and analyzing the given problem, and could have difficulty in associating between computer science and mathematics or between the subjects learned and the computer lesson, and in analyzing a given problem.

Teaching Computing without Computers: Unplugged Computing as a Pedagogical Strategy

“…Rijke et al conclude that unplugged activities have a future in primary schools, especially in the upper primary education (grade 4 through 6) since at this age students start to make progress in their abstract reasoning. Tonbuloğlu & Tonbuloğlu (2019) stated that unplugged coding activities had a positive effect on the improvement of computational thinking skills of the students. They also stressed that students engaged in unplugged activities were motivated and participated in class activities.…”

The Big Why of Implementing Computational Thinking In STEM Education: A Systematic Literature Review

“…These skills enable them to break down the problems and foresee what will change in the real situation. A variety of activities and strategies can be set up to help students improve their CT skills (Bers et al, 2019;Rossano et al, 2018;Sharma et al, 2019;Tonbuloğlu, 2019).…”

“…Maintaining the focus and managing time seems to be a tough graft. However, although unplugged activities could be a great tool for students to access CT, it seems obvious there are restrictions to this approach (Brackmann et al, 2017;Tonbuloğlu, 2019). Further research is needed to explore the efficacy of the unplugged approach.…”

Desenvolvimento e Avaliação de Material Didático Desplugado para o Ensino de Computação na Educação Básica

“…A Computação Desplugada (CD) tem sido usada em diversos países como uma alternativa para promover o Ensino de Computação nos níveis da EB (Huang & Looi 2020), utilizando diferentes objetos simples que fazem parte do cotidiano dos próprios alunos e professores (Tonbuloglu & Tonbuloglu 2019). Assim, as atividades de CD já têm ajudado diversos professores das escolas do mundo a melhorar a qualidade do ensino de Computação (Huang & Looi 2020).…”