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Non-Programming Activities for Engagement with Foundational Concepts in Introductory Programming

Authors:

Nicholas JackiwAuthors Info & Claims

SIGCSE '19: Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

Pages 1136 - 1142

https://doi.org/10.1145/3287324.3287468

Published: 22 February 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Programming-in a text-based or visual language-is a complex activity that novices find difficult to learn. In this paper, we present an experience report on how novel activities designed for early conceptual exploration can support middle school students' engagement with and learning of foundational programming concepts beginning programmers often struggle with, specifically, variables, expressions (Boolean, arithmetic, relational), loops, and abstraction. We drew on mathematics education research on dynamic representations to design and develop a set of four non-programming, (open access) web-based, interactive activities and micro-worlds and two unplugged activities as part of a suite of activities that can be embedded in a typical introductory programming curriculum to introduce learners to the target concepts before they encounter them in programming. This report describes the activities as well as our experience with their use as part of an introductory computer science course in three diverse, urban, middle school classrooms in the US

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Cited By

Sagimbayeva ANiyetbayeva NTassuov B(2024)A model for teaching students to create educational games in supplementary education in computer scienceScientific Herald of Uzhhorod University Series Physics10.54919/physics/55.2024.43lh7(437-445)Online publication date: 25-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.54919/physics/55.2024.43lh7
Mladenović MMedak LKrpan D(2024)Teaching the Bubble Sort Algorithm Using CS Unplugged Activities at the K-12 LevelACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/370612025:1(1-22)Online publication date: 28-Nov-2024
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cover image ACM Conferences

SIGCSE '19: Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

February 2019

1364 pages

ISBN:9781450358903

DOI:10.1145/3287324

General Chairs:
Elizabeth K. Hawthorne
Union County College, USA
,
Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Sarah Heckman
North Carolina State University, USA
,
Jian Zhang
Texas Woman's University, USA

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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SIGCSE: ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 22 February 2019

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SIGCSE '19: The 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

February 27 - March 2, 2019

MN, Minneapolis, USA

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SIGCSE '19 Paper Acceptance Rate 169 of 526 submissions, 32%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 1,787 of 5,146 submissions, 35%

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Cited By

Sagimbayeva ANiyetbayeva NTassuov B(2024)A model for teaching students to create educational games in supplementary education in computer scienceScientific Herald of Uzhhorod University Series Physics10.54919/physics/55.2024.43lh7(437-445)Online publication date: 25-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.54919/physics/55.2024.43lh7
Mladenović MMedak LKrpan D(2024)Teaching the Bubble Sort Algorithm Using CS Unplugged Activities at the K-12 LevelACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/370612025:1(1-22)Online publication date: 28-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706120
Song YTian XRegatti NKatuka GBoyer KIsrael MStephenson BStone JBattestilli LRebelsky SShoop L(2024)Artificial Intelligence Unplugged: Designing Unplugged Activities for a Conversational AI Summer CampProceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3626252.3630783(1272-1278)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3626252.3630783
Shehzad URecker MClarke-Midura JDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)A Literature Review Examining Broadening Participation in Upper Elementary CS EducationProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569873(570-576)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
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Katchapakirin KAnutariya CSupnithi T(2022)ScratchThAI: A conversation-based learning support framework for computational thinking developmentEducation and Information Technologies10.1007/s10639-021-10870-z27:6(8533-8560)Online publication date: 9-Mar-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10870-z
Poulakis EPolitis P(2020)Teaching Computational Thinking UnpluggedHandbook of Research on Tools for Teaching Computational Thinking in P-12 Education10.4018/978-1-7998-4576-8.ch009(196-232)Online publication date: 2020
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4576-8.ch009
Nanavati AOwens AStehlik MZhang JSherriff MHeckman SCutter PMonge A(2020)Pythons and Martians and Finches, Oh My! Lessons Learned from a Mandatory 8th Grade Python ClassProceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education10.1145/3328778.3366906(811-817)Online publication date: 26-Feb-2020
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Grover SJackiw NLundh P(2019)Concepts before coding: non-programming interactives to advance learning of introductory programming concepts in middle schoolComputer Science Education10.1080/08993408.2019.1568955(1-30)Online publication date: 6-Feb-2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2019.1568955
Monjelat NLantz-Andersson A(2019)Teachers’ narrative of learning to program in a professional development effort and the relation to the rhetoric of computational thinkingEducation and Information Technologies10.1007/s10639-019-10048-8Online publication date: 6-Dec-2019
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