2021 |
Kanellopoulou, Ioanna; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz First Steps Towards Automatically Defining the Difficulty of Maze-Based Programming Challenges Journal Article IEEE Access, 9 , pp. 64211-64223, 2021, ISSN: 2169-3536. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: block-based programming, Computational Thinking, difficulty, educational games @article{Kanellopoulou2021, title = {First Steps Towards Automatically Defining the Difficulty of Maze-Based Programming Challenges}, author = {Ioanna Kanellopoulou and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga}, doi = {10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3075027}, issn = {2169-3536}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-04-22}, journal = {IEEE Access}, volume = {9}, pages = {64211-64223}, abstract = {In a world where algorithms are ubiquitous, the development of computational thinking competencies is becoming progressively important among students, technology professionals, and 21st-century citizens in general. Educational games as a means of promoting computational thinking skills have gained popularity in recent years. Offering efficient educational games that promote computational thinking competencies requires personalized learning paths through adaptive difficulty. The research presented herein is a first attempt to define a difficulty function for maze-based programming challenges using log data obtained from Kodetu, which is a block-based maze game. Specifically, we conducted three studies with 9- to 16-year-old students who were asked to solve sequences of maze-based programming challenges. Using log data from these studies, we investigated the maze characteristics and the coding limitations that affect performance in the challenges and calculated the performance obtained by the participants using a fuzzy rule-based system. The results showed that the turns in a maze, the number of total steps of a maze, and the blocks provided affect student performance. Using regression analysis, we defined a difficulty function for maze-based programming challenges that considers the weights of these factors and provides a first step towards the design of adaptive learning paths for computational thinking-related educational games.}, keywords = {block-based programming, Computational Thinking, difficulty, educational games}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } In a world where algorithms are ubiquitous, the development of computational thinking competencies is becoming progressively important among students, technology professionals, and 21st-century citizens in general. Educational games as a means of promoting computational thinking skills have gained popularity in recent years. Offering efficient educational games that promote computational thinking competencies requires personalized learning paths through adaptive difficulty. The research presented herein is a first attempt to define a difficulty function for maze-based programming challenges using log data obtained from Kodetu, which is a block-based maze game. Specifically, we conducted three studies with 9- to 16-year-old students who were asked to solve sequences of maze-based programming challenges. Using log data from these studies, we investigated the maze characteristics and the coding limitations that affect performance in the challenges and calculated the performance obtained by the participants using a fuzzy rule-based system. The results showed that the turns in a maze, the number of total steps of a maze, and the blocks provided affect student performance. Using regression analysis, we defined a difficulty function for maze-based programming challenges that considers the weights of these factors and provides a first step towards the design of adaptive learning paths for computational thinking-related educational games. |
Guenaga, Mariluz; Eguiluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Gibaja, Juanjo How do students develop computational thinking? Assessing early programmers in a maze-based online game Journal Article Computer Science Education, 2021, ISSN: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ncse20. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: block-based programming, Computational Thinking, student assessment @article{Guenaga2021, title = {How do students develop computational thinking? Assessing early programmers in a maze-based online game}, author = {Mariluz Guenaga and Andoni Eguiluz and Pablo Garaizar and Juanjo Gibaja}, url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08993408.2021.1903248}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2021.1903248}, issn = {https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ncse20}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-04-13}, journal = {Computer Science Education}, abstract = {Background and Context: Despite many initiatives to develop Computational Thinking (CT), not much is known about how early programmers develop CT and how we can assess their learning. Objective: Determine if the analysis of students’ interactions with an online platform allows understanding the development of CT, how we can convert data collected into valuable insights, and the aspects that should be considered in platforms design. Method: We developed an online platform with a fine-grained log–recording system. We analysed the data collected from 1004 students (ages 8-14) to understand the difficulties they face. We explain our platform and the tools to process and filter the interaction logs. We calculate additional indicators that provide useful information about student’s behaviour. Findings: Age and gender have shown to influence on CT learning. Generating additional indicators from basic interaction data provide valuable insights. We provide a list of recommendations for developing more effective programming learning platforms.}, keywords = {block-based programming, Computational Thinking, student assessment}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Background and Context: Despite many initiatives to develop Computational Thinking (CT), not much is known about how early programmers develop CT and how we can assess their learning. Objective: Determine if the analysis of students’ interactions with an online platform allows understanding the development of CT, how we can convert data collected into valuable insights, and the aspects that should be considered in platforms design. Method: We developed an online platform with a fine-grained log–recording system. We analysed the data collected from 1004 students (ages 8-14) to understand the difficulties they face. We explain our platform and the tools to process and filter the interaction logs. We calculate additional indicators that provide useful information about student’s behaviour. Findings: Age and gender have shown to influence on CT learning. Generating additional indicators from basic interaction data provide valuable insights. We provide a list of recommendations for developing more effective programming learning platforms. |
2020 |
Israel-Fishelson, Rotem; Hershkovitz, Arnon; Eguiluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz Computational Thinking and Creativity: A Test for Interdependency Conference Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education, (15), 2020, ISSN: 2664-5661. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis @conference{Israel-Fishelson2020b, title = {Computational Thinking and Creativity: A Test for Interdependency}, author = {Rotem Israel-Fishelson and Arnon Hershkovitz and Andoni Eguiluz and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga}, url = {https://home/learninglabdeust/public_html.eduhk.hk/cte2020/doc/CTE2020%20Proceedings.pdf#page=27}, issn = {2664-5661}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-08-19}, booktitle = {Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education}, number = {15}, pages = {15-20}, abstract = {Computational Thinking (CT) and creativity are considered fundamental skills for future citizens. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N=174), considering two types of creativity: Creative Thinking and Computational Creativity. We did so using log files from a game-based learning platform (Kodetu) and a standardized creativity test. We found that the more creative the students were (as measured by a traditional creativity test), the more effectively they acquired CT. We also found significant positive correlations between Computational Creativity and the acquisition of CT in some levels of the game, and a positive correlation between Creative Thinking and Computational Creativity.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {conference} } Computational Thinking (CT) and creativity are considered fundamental skills for future citizens. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N=174), considering two types of creativity: Creative Thinking and Computational Creativity. We did so using log files from a game-based learning platform (Kodetu) and a standardized creativity test. We found that the more creative the students were (as measured by a traditional creativity test), the more effectively they acquired CT. We also found significant positive correlations between Computational Creativity and the acquisition of CT in some levels of the game, and a positive correlation between Creative Thinking and Computational Creativity. |
Israel-Fishelson, Rotem; Hershkovitz, Arnon; Eguiluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz The Associations Between Computational Thinking and Creativity: The Role of Personal Characteristics Journal Article Journal of Educational Computing Research, pp. 1-33, 2020. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis @article{Israel-Fishelson2020, title = {The Associations Between Computational Thinking and Creativity: The Role of Personal Characteristics}, author = {Rotem Israel-Fishelson and Arnon Hershkovitz and Andoni Eguiluz and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga}, url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JZIDVYEURZNPIGZXVIMT/full#articleCitationDownloadContainer http://learninglab.deusto.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/0735633120940954.pdf}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120940954}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-07-13}, journal = {Journal of Educational Computing Research}, pages = {1-33}, abstract = {Computational Thinking (CT) and creativity are considered two vital skills for the 21st century that should be incorporated into future curricula around the world. We studied the relationship between these two constructs while focusing on learners’ personal characteristics. Two types of creativity were examined: creative thinking and computational creativity. The research was conducted among 174 middle school students from Spain. Data collected using a standardized creativity test (Torrance's TTCT) were triangulated with data drawn from students' log files that documented their activity in a game-based learning environment for CT (Kodetu). We found some interesting associations between CT and the two constructs of creativity. These associations shed light on positive associations between each of the two creativity constructs and CT acquisition, as well as between the two creativity constructs themselves. Additionally, we highlight differences between boys and girls, as girls were found to be more creative on both creativity measures. Other differences associated with school affiliation, prior coding knowledge, and technology affinity are also discussed.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Computational Thinking (CT) and creativity are considered two vital skills for the 21st century that should be incorporated into future curricula around the world. We studied the relationship between these two constructs while focusing on learners’ personal characteristics. Two types of creativity were examined: creative thinking and computational creativity. The research was conducted among 174 middle school students from Spain. Data collected using a standardized creativity test (Torrance's TTCT) were triangulated with data drawn from students' log files that documented their activity in a game-based learning environment for CT (Kodetu). We found some interesting associations between CT and the two constructs of creativity. These associations shed light on positive associations between each of the two creativity constructs and CT acquisition, as well as between the two creativity constructs themselves. Additionally, we highlight differences between boys and girls, as girls were found to be more creative on both creativity measures. Other differences associated with school affiliation, prior coding knowledge, and technology affinity are also discussed. |
2019 |
Hershkovitz, Arnon; Sitman, Raquel; Israel-Fishelson, Rotem; Eguíluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz Creativity in the acquisition of computational thinking Journal Article Interactive Learning Environments, 0 (0), pp. 1-17, 2019. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, computer-aided instruction, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis, middle school @article{Hershkovitz2019, title = {Creativity in the acquisition of computational thinking}, author = {Arnon Hershkovitz and Raquel Sitman and Rotem Israel-Fishelson and Andoni Eguíluz and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga }, url = {https://home/learninglabdeust/public_html.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2019.1610451}, doi = {10.1080/10494820.2019.1610451}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-04-25}, journal = {Interactive Learning Environments}, volume = {0}, number = {0}, pages = {1-17}, abstract = {Many worldwide initiatives consider both creativity and computational thinking as crucial skills for future citizens, making them a priority for today's learners. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N = 57), considering two types of creativity: a general creative thinking, and a specific computational creativity. We did so using learning analytics, specifically, by operationalizing a log-based assessment of computational creativity. We find some evidence for an association between Computational Creativity and Computational Thinking: Demonstrating originality in an early stage of the game is associated with succeeding in this stage relatively easily, however negatively associated with progressing farther in the game. We also find that Computational Creativity is better explained by a state- rather than a trait-model. No associations were found between Creative Thinking and Computational Thinking. Furthermore, we find some striking associations between the two measures of creativity.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, computer-aided instruction, Creativity, game-based learning, learning analytics, log analysis, middle school}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Many worldwide initiatives consider both creativity and computational thinking as crucial skills for future citizens, making them a priority for today's learners. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N = 57), considering two types of creativity: a general creative thinking, and a specific computational creativity. We did so using learning analytics, specifically, by operationalizing a log-based assessment of computational creativity. We find some evidence for an association between Computational Creativity and Computational Thinking: Demonstrating originality in an early stage of the game is associated with succeeding in this stage relatively easily, however negatively associated with progressing farther in the game. We also find that Computational Creativity is better explained by a state- rather than a trait-model. No associations were found between Creative Thinking and Computational Thinking. Furthermore, we find some striking associations between the two measures of creativity. |
Hershkovitz, Arnon; Sitman, Raquel; Israel-Fishelson, Rotem; Eguiluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz Creativity inside and outside programming learning Conference LAK19: The 9th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-4503-6256-6. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning @conference{Hershkovitz2019b, title = {Creativity inside and outside programming learning}, author = {Arnon Hershkovitz and Raquel Sitman and Rotem Israel-Fishelson and Andoni Eguiluz and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga}, url = {https://home/learninglabdeust/public_html.researchgate.net/profile/Rotem_Israel-Fishelson/publication/333845240_Creativity_Inside_and_Outside_Programming_Learning/links/5d08d20892851cfcc61f9f89/Creativity-Inside-and-Outside-Programming-Learning.pdf}, isbn = {978-1-4503-6256-6}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-03-04}, booktitle = {LAK19: The 9th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference}, abstract = { Both creativity and computational thinking are considered as crucial skills for future citizens. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N=57), considering two types of creativity: general creative thinking, and specific computational creativity. We find some similarities between creative thinking and computational creativity, and interesting associations between the latter and computational thinking acquisition.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, Creativity, game-based learning}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {conference} } Both creativity and computational thinking are considered as crucial skills for future citizens. We studied the associations between these two constructs among middle school students (N=57), considering two types of creativity: general creative thinking, and specific computational creativity. We find some similarities between creative thinking and computational creativity, and interesting associations between the latter and computational thinking acquisition. |
2018 |
Eguiluz, Andoni; Garaizar, Pablo; Guenaga, Mariluz An Evaluation of Open Digital Gaming Platforms for Developing Computational Thinking Skills Book Chapter 9 , IntechOpen, 2018. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, learning, resources, school, videogames, visual languages @inbook{Eguiluz2018, title = {An Evaluation of Open Digital Gaming Platforms for Developing Computational Thinking Skills}, author = {Andoni Eguiluz and Pablo Garaizar and Mariluz Guenaga}, url = {https://home/learninglabdeust/public_html.intechopen.com/books/simulation-and-gaming/an-evaluation-of-open-digital-gaming-platforms-for-developing-computational-thinking-skills}, doi = {10.5772/intechopen.71339}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-02-14}, volume = {9}, publisher = {IntechOpen}, abstract = {Due to business needs and the growing importance of technology in society, in recent years, the concept of computational thinking has emerged, especially focused on its inclusion in compulsory education as a relevant complement, transversal to traditional subjects. In parallel, various initiatives have developed interactive digital tools for learners to meet this type of thinking through a series of activities commonly framed as games. In this chapter, we evaluate many of the existing free access platforms to propose pedagogical, design, and content approaches with which they can be compared.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, learning, resources, school, videogames, visual languages}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inbook} } Due to business needs and the growing importance of technology in society, in recent years, the concept of computational thinking has emerged, especially focused on its inclusion in compulsory education as a relevant complement, transversal to traditional subjects. In parallel, various initiatives have developed interactive digital tools for learners to meet this type of thinking through a series of activities commonly framed as games. In this chapter, we evaluate many of the existing free access platforms to propose pedagogical, design, and content approaches with which they can be compared. |
2017 |
Eguiluz, Andoni; Guenaga, Mariluz; Garaizar, Pablo; Olivares-Rodriguez, Cristian Exploring the progression of early programmers in a set of computational thinking challenges via clickstream analysis Journal Article IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing, 2017, ISSN: 2168-6750. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, computer science education, visual programming @article{Eguiluz2017b, title = {Exploring the progression of early programmers in a set of computational thinking challenges via clickstream analysis}, author = {Andoni Eguiluz and Mariluz Guenaga and Pablo Garaizar and Cristian Olivares-Rodriguez }, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8093668/}, doi = {10.1109/TETC.2017.2768550}, issn = {2168-6750}, year = {2017}, date = {2017-11-01}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing}, abstract = {In recent years, many initiatives have aimed to develop basic computational thinking skills. Despite the popularity of online platforms for early programmers, we still lack detailed information to analyze how these skills are acquired. In the present study we analyzed clickstream data from 3,355 participants enrolled in several Computational Thinking workshops using Kodetu, an online platform with fine grained logging features. Participants used Kodetu's coding blocks to solve challenges of increasing difficulty while we gathered their clickstream in the platform. Here, we present our findings after evaluating these data in regards of participants' characteristics (age, sex, previous knowledge), similarity with previously submitted solutions, and degree of discrepancy from the optimal solution. To facilitate collaboration with other researchers in this area, we released our dataset under an open license. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest Computational Thinking-related datasets publicly available. }, keywords = {Computational Thinking, computer science education, visual programming}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } In recent years, many initiatives have aimed to develop basic computational thinking skills. Despite the popularity of online platforms for early programmers, we still lack detailed information to analyze how these skills are acquired. In the present study we analyzed clickstream data from 3,355 participants enrolled in several Computational Thinking workshops using Kodetu, an online platform with fine grained logging features. Participants used Kodetu's coding blocks to solve challenges of increasing difficulty while we gathered their clickstream in the platform. Here, we present our findings after evaluating these data in regards of participants' characteristics (age, sex, previous knowledge), similarity with previously submitted solutions, and degree of discrepancy from the optimal solution. To facilitate collaboration with other researchers in this area, we released our dataset under an open license. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest Computational Thinking-related datasets publicly available. |
Guenaga, Mariluz; Menchaca, Iratxe; Garaizar, Pablo; Eguiluz, Andoni; Villagrasa, Sergi; Navarro, Isidro Make World, a collaborative platform to develop computational thinking and STEAM Journal Article Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Technology in Education. LCT 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 10296 , 2017, ISBN: 978-3-319-58514-7. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, Computer-supported collaborative learning, Serious games and gamification, STEAM, Technology-enhanced learning @article{Guenaga2017, title = {Make World, a collaborative platform to develop computational thinking and STEAM}, author = {Mariluz Guenaga and Iratxe Menchaca and Pablo Garaizar and Andoni Eguiluz and Sergi Villagrasa and Isidro Navarro}, editor = {Zaphiris P., Ioannou A.}, url = {http://paginaspersonales.deusto.es/garaizar/papers/HCI2017-MLG-IM-PG-AE-SV-IN.pdf}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-58515-4_5.}, isbn = {978-3-319-58514-7}, year = {2017}, date = {2017-05-17}, journal = {Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Technology in Education. LCT 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science}, volume = {10296}, abstract = {The demand for computer programming professionals in STEAM-related areas has rocketed in the last decade. Initiatives such as the Hour of Code or CodeWeek take advantage of online platforms like Code.org to reach millions of students through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. Despite the excellent curricular design of Code.org courses, we believe that learners could benefit from a platform where they can create their own programming challenges that can be shared, assessed and remixed by the rest of the users. We named this platform Make World (http://makeworld.eu). After more than one year of use, we studied how students and teachers used this tool to propose and solve learning activities where computational thinking and STEAM skills are developed at the same time. This paper describes the main characteristics of Make World and analyses the use and piloting phase where more than 500 students of primary education have participated to measure the impact of Make World in their learning. The result of this analysis provides a better understanding of the difficulties students face when using a technological platform for STEAM and computational thinking education.}, keywords = {Computational Thinking, Computer-supported collaborative learning, Serious games and gamification, STEAM, Technology-enhanced learning}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The demand for computer programming professionals in STEAM-related areas has rocketed in the last decade. Initiatives such as the Hour of Code or CodeWeek take advantage of online platforms like Code.org to reach millions of students through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. Despite the excellent curricular design of Code.org courses, we believe that learners could benefit from a platform where they can create their own programming challenges that can be shared, assessed and remixed by the rest of the users. We named this platform Make World (http://makeworld.eu). After more than one year of use, we studied how students and teachers used this tool to propose and solve learning activities where computational thinking and STEAM skills are developed at the same time. This paper describes the main characteristics of Make World and analyses the use and piloting phase where more than 500 students of primary education have participated to measure the impact of Make World in their learning. The result of this analysis provides a better understanding of the difficulties students face when using a technological platform for STEAM and computational thinking education. |
2014 |
Bustillo, J; Garaizar, Pablo Scratching the surface of digital literacy… but we need to go deeper Conference Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2014 IEEE, IEEE, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-4799-3922-0. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Thinking, digital literacy, Education, Programming, Scratch @conference{Bustillo2014, title = {Scratching the surface of digital literacy… but we need to go deeper}, author = {J. Bustillo and Pablo Garaizar}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7044224/}, doi = {10.1109/FIE.2014.7044224}, isbn = {978-1-4799-3922-0}, year = {2014}, date = {2014-10-25}, booktitle = {Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2014 IEEE}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {The popularization of digital educational devices with low barriers to entry has encouraged the development of many training activities oriented towards the incorporation of technology in schools. In some cases, the introduction of technology has led to the development of new educational practices that support the development of computational thinking. However, the supposed benefits of these approaches have not been properly assessed. Moreover, having taught over 30 workshops with the Scratch programming tool to teachers at different educational levels (primary, secondary, university), we found no evidence of subsequent methodological changes in schools. This study tries to understand the dissonance between the alleged success of initiatives around digital literacy and the lack of continuity in the use of user-friendly programming environments like Scratch. For this purpose, we analyzed the evolution of the grades of Scratch programming achieved by the students of the School of Education of Vitoria-Gasteiz and their engagement with Scratch. We also interviewed teachers from different schools who have participated in Scratch workshops with us. After this study, we identified some of the circumstances that facilitate and hinder the development of computational thinking. Since we consider Scratch as a resource that allows the development of new methodological approaches in the classroom as well as the acquisition of skills related to computational thinking, we propose a framework that will help to overcome the current status. }, keywords = {Computational Thinking, digital literacy, Education, Programming, Scratch}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {conference} } The popularization of digital educational devices with low barriers to entry has encouraged the development of many training activities oriented towards the incorporation of technology in schools. In some cases, the introduction of technology has led to the development of new educational practices that support the development of computational thinking. However, the supposed benefits of these approaches have not been properly assessed. Moreover, having taught over 30 workshops with the Scratch programming tool to teachers at different educational levels (primary, secondary, university), we found no evidence of subsequent methodological changes in schools. This study tries to understand the dissonance between the alleged success of initiatives around digital literacy and the lack of continuity in the use of user-friendly programming environments like Scratch. For this purpose, we analyzed the evolution of the grades of Scratch programming achieved by the students of the School of Education of Vitoria-Gasteiz and their engagement with Scratch. We also interviewed teachers from different schools who have participated in Scratch workshops with us. After this study, we identified some of the circumstances that facilitate and hinder the development of computational thinking. Since we consider Scratch as a resource that allows the development of new methodological approaches in the classroom as well as the acquisition of skills related to computational thinking, we propose a framework that will help to overcome the current status. |