The purpose of this research is to examine the coding skills of five-year-old children in terms of some variables. The research sample comprises 160 children aged five years studying in kindergarten affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Gaziantep city center in the 2021-2022 academic year. As a data collection tool in the research,…

The purpose of this study was to explore how kindergarten students (aged 5-6 years) engaged with mathematics as they learned programming with robot coding toys. We video-recorded 16 teaching sessions of kindergarten students' (N = 36) mathematical and programming activities. Students worked in small groups (4-5 students) with robot coding toys on…

Computer programming provides a framework for interdisciplinary learning in sciences, arts and languages. However, increasing integration of programming in K--12 shows that the block-based and text-based dichotomy of programming environments does not reflect the spectrum of their affordance. Hence, educators are confronted with a fundamental…

Although digital technology is an important part of young people's lives, previous research implies that they have a limited understanding of what programming is and its connection to the digital devices they encounter every day. In order to create conditions for meaningful teaching in and about programming in technology education, more knowledge…

Programmed control systems are ubiquitous in the present-day world. In current educational practice, however, these systems are hardly being addressed, and little is known about children's spontaneous understandings about such systems. Therefore, we explored pupils' understandings prior to instruction in three concrete settings: a car park, an…

As computer-science-for-all initiatives continue to grow, many schools are looking for ways to introduce computer science skills and thinking to elementary-age children. Some initiatives have focused on coding as its own endeavor, not integrated with other subjects like mathematics, science, or literacy. Increasingly, developers and researchers…

Despite increased interest in integrating programming education into K-12 programs, there is a lack of studies on teaching debugging to younger age groups. Therefore, this study proposes practical design components for designing unplugged debugging tasks that affect young learners' debugging performance, problem-solving, and self-efficacy,…

As technology-enhanced children's learning has gained wide attention, programmable robots have been gradually introduced in early childhood education. Hence, it would be valuable to understand how young children perceive robot programming learning. Draw-a-picture technique is an ideal method to elicit ideas, thoughts, and feelings for children…

The interest in computational thinking development at pre-university education stage is increasing. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to address two main objectives: (a) to analyze the effectiveness of empirical interventions in K-12 education for the development of Computational Thinking (CT); and (b) to identify and evaluate the…

This study examined the effects of embodied learning experiences on students' understanding of computational thinking (CT) concepts and their ability to solve CT problems. In a mixed-reality learning environment, students mapped CT concepts, such as sequencing and loops, onto their bodily movements. These movements were later applied to robot…

This study aimed to introduce unplugged algorithm activities developed for preschool children and to examine their implementation process. The activities used in the study were designed to support preschool children to develop and apply different solutions to problem situations that require algorithmic thinking and to learn basic algorithm…

Background and Context: Various coding initiatives and materials exist such as those on Code.org site to promote students' computational thinking (CT). However, little is known as to: (a) whether such materials, in fact, promote CT and (b) how CT skills are related to each other. Objective: As a preliminary step to identify CT skills addressed in…

Background and Context: Historically, women have been underrepresented in computer science. To address this gender gap, researchers advocate for high-quality computer science programs for early childhood. Objectives: This study examines gender differences in coding performance before and after implementing a 24-lesson visual programming curriculum…

Several instructional approaches have been advanced for learning programming. However, effective ways of engaging beginners in programming in K-12 are still unclear, especially among low socioeconomic status learners in technology-deprived learning environments. Understanding the learning path of novice programmers will bridge this gap and explain…

Gender balance in computing education is a decades-old issue that has been the focus of much previous research. In K-12, the introduction of mandatory computing education goes some way to giving all learners the opportunity to engage with computing throughout school, but a gender imbalance still persists when computer science becomes an elective…