The importance of student engagement is long recognised. Students who are more engaged will be more motivated and inclined to complete their studies. The aim of this study is to understand barriers to engagement for first-year computing students, a cohort that traditionally have high non-progression rates. A qualitative descriptive design was…

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) coupled with artificial intelligence have made computer programming skills indispensable for IT majors and for an increasing number of other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Like any hands-on skill, mastering computer programming requires dedicated…

Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have drawn significant attention from educators and researchers. However, its effects on learners' programming performance, self-efficacy and learning processes remain inconclusive, while the mechanisms underlying its efficiency-enhancing potential are underexplored. This study…

RoblockLLy is an educational robotics simulator designed for primary and secondary school students, whose goal is to increase their interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In the particular case of computer science, it allows developing computational thinking skills. It has been designed with ease of use in mind. This free…

Social network analysis involves delicate and sophisticated mathematical concepts which are abstract and challenging to acquire by traditional methods. Many studies show that female students perform poorly in computer science-related courses compared to male students. To address these issues, this research investigates the impact of employing a…

This study explores the integration of game play into an inclusive, hands-on computing project in Calculus class. The project is focused on designing and analyzing priority switches for applications competing for computational resources on embedded devices such as smart watches and tablets. By engaging students in real-world problem-solving…

Exploring the relationship between teacher support and students' learning engagement in high school information technology courses can help improve students' learning ability. The researchers took 246 high school students from a city in China as the research subjects and used structural equation modeling to explore the relationship between teacher…

Background and Context: Few instruments exist to measure students' CS engagement and learning especially in areas where coding happens with creative, project-based learning and in regard to students' self-beliefs about computing. Objective: We introduce the CS Interests and Beliefs Inventory (CSIBI), an instrument designed for novice secondary…

Aim/Purpose: The key objective of this research is to examine whether fix-and-play educational games improve students' performance in learning programming languages. We also quantified the flow experiences of the students and analyzed how the flow contributes to their academic performances. Background: Traditionally, learning the first computer…

Threshold concepts have been characterised in the literature as jewels in the curriculum as they can inform teaching and learning practices. Therefore, identifying and addressing threshold concepts in any discipline is critical. The aim of the current study is to explore the existence of threshold concepts in computer programming and specifically…

The gender imbalance in computer science (CS) is one of the most challenging issues in American education. CS is the only science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field in which women's representation has steadily declined in recent decades. In this study, we explored one potential approach that could be effective in increasing…

For most beginners, learning computer programming is a complex undertaking. Demotivation and learned helplessness have been widely reported. In addition to the subject's complexity, low in-class involvement has been linked to poor student performance. This work introduces a novel instructional technique called Student-Driven Probe Instruction…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of student satisfaction on students' engagement and motivation in a mobile-based flipped classroom. A total of 222 university students taking the Computing I course designed as a mobile-based flipped classroom were recruited. Data were collected through three self-report instruments: the…

Teaching introductory programming courses to university students who come from a varied set of academic and non-academic backgrounds is challenging. Students who are learning programming for the first time can become easily discouraged leading to procrastination that subsequently can have an unfavorable effect on their learning outcomes, and…

Games are a great source of entertainment and are used by people of all ages; they motivate and engage people and affect their behavior. Therefore, games have been widely studied in many non-game contexts. Education is one of those areas where gamified, and game-based learning strategies have been implemented and explored. To engage and motivate…