Background: Coding has become an integral part of STEM education. However, novice learners face difficulties in processing codes within embedded structures (also termed nested structures). This study aimed to investigate the cognitive mechanism underlying the processing of embedded coding structures based on hierarchical complexity theory, which…

Background: Being easy to learn and fun, block-based programming tools are widely used to teach students introductory programming. Scratch and LEGO robots are two popular block-based programming tools. However, the objects they manipulate are completely different. Scratch manipulates graphical virtual sprites, whereas LEGO robots manipulate…

Background: With the development of computational literacy, there has been a surge in both research and practice application of text-based and block-based modalities within the field of computer programming education. Despite this trend, little work has actually examined how learners engaging in programming process when utilizing these two major…

Children's preschool years are crucial for the development of computational thinking (CT) skills. However, debate continues regarding whether CT should be developed through plugged-in or unplugged activities. This study investigated the similarities and differences between plugged-in and unplugged activities with similar learning content and…

Computational Thinking (CT) is regarded as a crucial competency for all children in the 21st century. There are misconceptions about CT which confounds CT skills with programming skills. However, CT skills and programming skills are not the same. CT is a broader skillset of cognitive thinking that is integral to complex problem solving. Teaching…

Cultivating innovative talents has become a critical strategy for building China into a strong country in science and technology. Catering to the trend of educational reform in the intelligent era, the use of robotics in developing student creativity proves to be of greater practical value. The findings of this study are that: first, the overall…

This research focuses on student-robot interaction in the learning environment of robotics education (RE) and attempts to explore how it cultivates students' computational thinking (CT). Different from child-robot interactions as investigated in the social robot field, student-robot (S-R) interactions focus mainly on the process of interaction…

Background: Unplugged programming is proved to be an effective means to foster the learner-centered programming learning. In addition to the final tests, learners' programming knowledge, skills, and capacities are primarily demonstrated throughout the programming process, particularly in the situation when they encounter challenges and problems.…

In Robotics Education (RE), the hands-on experience with troubleshooting problems is seen as a good catalyst to enhance the participants' problem-solving skills. Based on the pedagogical technique of collaborative learning and pair programming, pair learning is an emerging and potential method in RE, which means that students collaborate in pairs…

The purpose of this study is to adapt the computational thinking scale to Chinese. The study group consists of 1015 students. The study was performed in the descriptive scanning model. The final version of the scale was corrected in line with the opinions of the language experts who received the items translated from Turkish to Chinese.…

The purpose of this study is to adapt the computational thinking scale to Chinese. The study group consists of 1015 students. The study was performed in the descriptive scanning model. The final version of the scale was corrected in line with the opinions of the language experts who received the items translated from Turkish to Chinese.…

To maximize learners' performance promotion in flipped classroom, this research redesigns a flipped classroom with four integrated practices: speed response questions, teacher face-to-face counselling, independent practices and team projects. Using questionnaire (N = 66) and interview (N = 20) data, the model is tested in two undergraduate…

This paper presents a method to design high-quality 3D equipment for virtual laboratories. A virtual control laboratory is designed on large-scale educational purpose with merits of saving expenses for universities and can provide more opportunities for students. The proposed laboratory with more than 30 virtual instruments aims at offering…

Assessments of new pedagogical practices usually rely on instructor oriented surveys and questionnaires to measure student perceptions of teaching methods; however, fixed response categories in structured questionnaires might bias results. This paper demonstrates a mixed methods approach using open and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) for a…

Practical abilities are important for students from majors including Computer Science and Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. Along with the popularity of ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM/ICPC) and other programming contests, online judge (OJ) websites achieve rapid development, thus providing a new kind of programming…