ERIC Number: ED628951
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jun
Pages: 39
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Impact Study of the Coding as Another Language Curriculum: Study B
Zhanxia Yang; Patricia Moore Shaffer; Courtney Hagan; Parastu Dubash; Marina Bers
Grantee Submission
The aim of this study was to explore how the Coding as Another Language using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr) curriculum, developed by Boston College's DevTech Research Group utilizing the ScratchJr app, impacted second grade students' computational thinking, coding skills, and reading comprehension. To accomplish this, the research team randomly assigned 20 schools in a school district located in a northeastern state of the United States to teach the Coding as Another Language curriculum or to a "business as usual" control condition. As a result, ten schools were assigned to the treatment group and the remaining ten schools were assigned to the control group. Participants in this study, referred to as Impact Study B, initially included 13 teachers and 247 students from 17 classrooms in the treatment group, and 10 teachers and 103 students from 12 classrooms in the control group. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to assess the impact of the CAL-ScratchJr curriculum on these second grade students' computational thinking, coding skills, and reading comprehension. Results showed that the CAL-ScratchJr curriculum intervention had a significantly positive impact on students' coding performance while no notable difference was found on students' computational thinking as both groups showed significantly higher increases of computational thinking from the baseline. Additionally, an examination of students' standardized literacy achievement across the two conditions found no notable difference findings, suggesting that even though the treatment group students allocated regular class time for the CAL-ScratchJr curriculum, the students in the treatment group showed comparable growth with the students in the control group on standardized literacy achievement assessments. [For the previous related report, see ED626865.]
Descriptors: Coding, Programming Languages, Computer Science Education, School Districts, Computer Software, Thinking Skills, Skill Development, Intervention, Curriculum Development, Comparative Analysis, Standardized Tests, Grade 2, Elementary School Students, Literacy, Time Management, Instructional Effectiveness, Fidelity, Faculty Development, Outcome Measures, Achievement Tests, Reading Achievement, Reading Fluency
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 2; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Measures of Academic Progress
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: U411C220202
What Works Clearinghouse Reviewed: Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
WWC Study Page: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/WWC/Study/91069