There is a growing perception that computational thinking can be developed in unplugged environments. A recent trend among these unplugged approaches is the use of tabletop games. While there are many commercial tabletop games on the market that are promoted as teaching computer science and/or computational skills, little is known about how these…

Background and context: Coding and computational thinking are often taught through integrated curricula, despite a paucity of classroom-based research on their effectiveness. Objective: To investigate evidence of learning resulting from cross-curricular coding tasks in middle-school classrooms, and the school environment factors that impact upon…

Background and context: Despite the growing importance of computer science (CS) education, high-quality CS curricula for students in kindergarten to lower elementary grades are lacking. It is also unclear how students from underrepresented groups such as female students, students from low socioeconomic status, and students with disability respond…

Background and context: Transfer is a process where students apply their learning to different contexts. This process includes using their knowledge to solve problems with similar complexity, and in new contexts. In the context of programming, transfer also includes being able to understand and use different programming languages. Objective: This…

Background and Context: Despite the increasing implementation of coding in early curricula, there are few valid and reliable assessments of coding abilities for young children. This impedes studying learning outcomes and the development and evaluation of curricula. Objective: Developing and validating a new instrument for assessing young…

Presents a method to enhance the teaching of computer programing to secondary students that establishes a connection between logic, truth tables, switching circuits, gating symbols, flow charts, and pseudocode. The author asserts that the method prepares students for thinking processes related to programing. (MDH)