ERIC Number: EJ1461915
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1598-1037
EISSN: EISSN-1876-407X
Available Date: 2023-10-23
Is Gamification Always Productive? A Study of the Effectiveness of Bebras Cards in Promoting Primary Students' Computational Thinking Skills
Belén Ramírez de Arellano Falcón1; Javier del Olmo-Muñoz1; Ramón Cózar-Gutiérrez1; José Antonio González-Calero1
Asia Pacific Education Review, v26 n1 p117-131 2025
Computational thinking is becoming an essential skill in educational systems. There is, however, still a great deal to learn about it. This research aims to evaluate whether the inclusion of a specific material (Junior School Bebras Cards) favors the development of primary students' computational thinking skills. For this purpose, 37 fourth-grade students participated in a quasi-experimental study to test the effectiveness of this material and its implementation using gamification. Three research questions were evaluated: the development of computational thinking skills, the influence of gamification on learning outcomes, and the influence of gamification on student motivation. The intervention was designed using the Junior School Bebras Cards, an unplugged (no technology) material proposed by UK Bebras. Two groups worked with these materials: an experimental group that received gamified instruction and a control group that received nongamified instruction. The three research questions were assessed through the comparative analyses of tests performed before and after the intervention. The results reveal that using Junior School Bebras Cards is beneficial for developing computational thinking skills; however, gamification using this material did not improve students' learning outcomes or motivation.
Descriptors: Thinking Skills, Computer Science Education, Game Based Learning, Outcomes of Education, Student Motivation, Comparative Analysis, Teaching Methods, Elementary School Students, Grade 4, Instructional Effectiveness
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain