Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers
An engaging first programming class (CS1) often inspires students’ passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022004790 |
| _version_ | 1798022690231025664 |
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| author | Oladele O. Campbell Harrison I. Atagana |
| author_facet | Oladele O. Campbell Harrison I. Atagana |
| author_sort | Oladele O. Campbell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An engaging first programming class (CS1) often inspires students’ passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in international student engagement surveys seems to substantiate CS1 failure, attrition rates, and lack of diversity in most CS classes. Meanwhile, for its simplicity in introducing programming to beginners, primary and secondary schools use Scratch, an educational programming environment developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. For the same reason, higher institutions now include some forms of Scratch instruction in CS1. The question remains, to what extent is Scratch engaging, especially for students in higher education? This study addressed this gap by observing college computer science students exposed to a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. We adopted a descriptive design based on quantitative observations. To observe the class during a weekly 2-hour session, we employed five CS educators, one observer per week. Each observer, employing a 20-item observation protocol, rated the extent of affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement of first-year CS students in a polytechnic in North Central Nigeria. Most of the students were learning to program for the first time. Analysis of the data showed a significant agreement in the ratings of the five observers for overall student engagement, although the impact was moderate. However, while agreement in their ratings for affective engagement was significant, with a large effect, there was no significant concordance in their ratings for behavioral engagement. Observers also significantly agreed in their ratings for cognitive engagement; however, the impact was moderate. These findings suggest that employing Scratch in higher education can be engaging and useful, especially for students with no prior programming experience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:35:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04ded0c7a6a34e3e9b85ced16b112afd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:35:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-04ded0c7a6a34e3e9b85ced16b112afd2022-12-22T04:11:39ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-03-0183e09191Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observersOladele O. Campbell0Harrison I. Atagana1Dept of Computer Science, Niger State Polytechnic, Zungeru, Nigeria; Institute for Science and Technology Education, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa; Corresponding author.Institute for Nanotechnology & Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, South AfricaAn engaging first programming class (CS1) often inspires students’ passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in international student engagement surveys seems to substantiate CS1 failure, attrition rates, and lack of diversity in most CS classes. Meanwhile, for its simplicity in introducing programming to beginners, primary and secondary schools use Scratch, an educational programming environment developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. For the same reason, higher institutions now include some forms of Scratch instruction in CS1. The question remains, to what extent is Scratch engaging, especially for students in higher education? This study addressed this gap by observing college computer science students exposed to a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. We adopted a descriptive design based on quantitative observations. To observe the class during a weekly 2-hour session, we employed five CS educators, one observer per week. Each observer, employing a 20-item observation protocol, rated the extent of affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement of first-year CS students in a polytechnic in North Central Nigeria. Most of the students were learning to program for the first time. Analysis of the data showed a significant agreement in the ratings of the five observers for overall student engagement, although the impact was moderate. However, while agreement in their ratings for affective engagement was significant, with a large effect, there was no significant concordance in their ratings for behavioral engagement. Observers also significantly agreed in their ratings for cognitive engagement; however, the impact was moderate. These findings suggest that employing Scratch in higher education can be engaging and useful, especially for students with no prior programming experience.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022004790Improving classroom teachingPost-secondary educationNovice programmingStudent engagementScratchConstructionism |
| spellingShingle | Oladele O. Campbell Harrison I. Atagana Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers Heliyon Improving classroom teaching Post-secondary education Novice programming Student engagement Scratch Constructionism |
| title | Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers |
| title_full | Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers |
| title_fullStr | Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers |
| title_short | Impact of a Scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a Nigerian polytechnic first-year class: verdict from the observers |
| title_sort | impact of a scratch programming intervention on student engagement in a nigerian polytechnic first year class verdict from the observers |
| topic | Improving classroom teaching Post-secondary education Novice programming Student engagement Scratch Constructionism |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022004790 |
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