Computers infiltrate almost every aspect of our lives, including our homes and cars. For work, education, or personal fulfillment, computing has increased dramatically. The need for an educated workforce is expanding as technology devices become smaller, faster, and more powerful. We can teach students how to use math, logic, and computational…

Past efforts to teach novices programming through pair programming and project-based learning utilizing different low floors, high ceilings and wide walls platforms have been successful. Building from related work, this study investigates the effectiveness of Productive Failure (PF) pedagogical design in supporting youth and novices when learning…

In 2019, the U.S. is still facing a shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce that is capable of solving social and economic challenges in 21st century worldwide. Numerous studies have explored the influence of integrative STEM approaches on developing student interest and career aspiration in STEM. Building on…

It is becoming increasingly necessary for every child to have experience with 21st century Computational Thinking (CT) skills including learning to program. Considerable efforts have been made within the last two decades including the development and widespread use of novice-friendly block-based programming environments such as Scratch and Snap!…

Place-value is an essential concept that is foundational for understanding our number system and for developing procedures for multidigit operations, but there has been limited research into the place-value understanding of students with learning disabilities. This research is a two-part mixed-methods study that links basic research to…

How do children use physical and virtual tools to develop new numerical knowledge? While concrete instructional materials may support the delivery of novel information to learners, they may also over-simplify the task, unintentionally reducing learners' performance in recall and transfer tasks. This reduction in testing performance may be…

This study attempts to determine if authentic learning strategies can be used to acquire knowledge of and increase motivation for computational thinking. Over 600 students enrolled in a computer literacy course participated in this study which involved completing a pretest, posttest and motivation survey. The students were divided into an…

Advances in technology have caused high schools to update their computer science curricula; however there has been little analogous attention to technology-related education in middle schools. With respect to computer-related knowledge and skills, middle school students are at a critical phase in life, exploring individualized education options…