Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School
The introduction of Computational Thinking (CT) in Italian compulsory schools is on the way, and there is a general need for new methodologies to support teachers’ work. A one-year long learning path supporting the development of CT skills in primary school students through game making activities wa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Serious Games Society
2019-09-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Serious Games |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/304 |
| _version_ | 1818556739485696000 |
|---|---|
| author | Laura Freina Rosa Bottino Lucia Ferlino |
| author_facet | Laura Freina Rosa Bottino Lucia Ferlino |
| author_sort | Laura Freina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The introduction of Computational Thinking (CT) in Italian compulsory schools is on the way, and there is a general need for new methodologies to support teachers’ work. A one-year long learning path supporting the development of CT skills in primary school students through game making activities was defined and tested in a case study with one grade 5 class. All students in the class were actively involved regardless of their personal interest, their participation was generally high, their skills increased along the project, and the main objectives were reached. Nevertheless, results suggest that a longer time span is needed for students to master deeply the new concepts and tools, class organization proved to be crucial and this confirms the need for an adequate teachers’ training before introducing CT in classroom activities. Students demonstrated to be on the right path to approach CT through game making, but they still need to be guided in taking the player’s perspective and making their games easy to be understood and played. At the end of the case study, the learning path was revised and is now in use in a three-year long project in a primary school. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:51:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a67816fc2ac6414f80c7fdd42d26c1c3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2384-8766 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:51:07Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Serious Games Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Serious Games |
| spelling | doaj.art-a67816fc2ac6414f80c7fdd42d26c1c32022-12-21T23:26:47ZengSerious Games SocietyInternational Journal of Serious Games2384-87662019-09-016310.17083/ijsg.v6i3.304Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary SchoolLaura Freina0Rosa BottinoLucia FerlinoITD-CNRThe introduction of Computational Thinking (CT) in Italian compulsory schools is on the way, and there is a general need for new methodologies to support teachers’ work. A one-year long learning path supporting the development of CT skills in primary school students through game making activities was defined and tested in a case study with one grade 5 class. All students in the class were actively involved regardless of their personal interest, their participation was generally high, their skills increased along the project, and the main objectives were reached. Nevertheless, results suggest that a longer time span is needed for students to master deeply the new concepts and tools, class organization proved to be crucial and this confirms the need for an adequate teachers’ training before introducing CT in classroom activities. Students demonstrated to be on the right path to approach CT through game making, but they still need to be guided in taking the player’s perspective and making their games easy to be understood and played. At the end of the case study, the learning path was revised and is now in use in a three-year long project in a primary school.http://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/304Computational ThinkingGame MakingCodingPrimary Education |
| spellingShingle | Laura Freina Rosa Bottino Lucia Ferlino Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School International Journal of Serious Games Computational Thinking Game Making Coding Primary Education |
| title | Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School |
| title_full | Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School |
| title_fullStr | Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School |
| title_short | Fostering Computational Thinking skills in the Last Years of Primary School |
| title_sort | fostering computational thinking skills in the last years of primary school |
| topic | Computational Thinking Game Making Coding Primary Education |
| url | http://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/304 |
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