Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming
Computer Science (CS) is a profession that positively impacts every single area of society without which today's world would come to a complete halt. Yet, there is a consensus that CS has serious conundrums particularly in attracting students, low motivation for learning computer programming an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2020-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9286386/ |
| _version_ | 1828908519179419648 |
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| author | Cagin Kazimoglu |
| author_facet | Cagin Kazimoglu |
| author_sort | Cagin Kazimoglu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Computer Science (CS) is a profession that positively impacts every single area of society without which today's world would come to a complete halt. Yet, there is a consensus that CS has serious conundrums particularly in attracting students, low motivation for learning computer programming and developing computational thinking (CT) skills. New motivational methods are needed to take the attention of students and adapt to their learning patterns as how people learn have changed drastically over the last two decades. To address these issues, video games and video game-based tools are proposed as a primary approach for motivating and supporting students in developing their skills in CT and support their learning of introductory programming. This research is concerned with the capture of statistical evidence on the educational effectiveness of playing a serious game specifically designed to enhance the development of CT skills to facilitate learning introductory computer programming. A total of 190 students were invited to participate in a quasi-experimental pre-post study for the purpose of analyzing the impact of an adhoc game on students' confidence in learning programming constructs and using their skills in CT. All students were studying a CS degree at the time and they were all registered to a first-year computer programming course. 151 out of 190 students successfully completed the study and the findings suggest that a) the intrinsic motivation to learn programming; b) students' perception of their knowledge and their tangible knowledge in key programming constructs (i.e. programming sequence, methods, decision making and loops); and c) students' confidence in using their CT skills were all statistically and significantly improved after playing the game. Additionally, students perceived computer programming significantly less difficult in their post study responses when compared to their pre study responses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T18:11:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d86c6b6f67214388b813160ee0e0b646 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T18:11:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-d86c6b6f67214388b813160ee0e0b6462022-12-21T23:35:57ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362020-01-01822183122185110.1109/ACCESS.2020.30432789286386Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer ProgrammingCagin Kazimoglu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3313-6137Faculty of Engineering, Cyprus International University, Nicosia, CyprusComputer Science (CS) is a profession that positively impacts every single area of society without which today's world would come to a complete halt. Yet, there is a consensus that CS has serious conundrums particularly in attracting students, low motivation for learning computer programming and developing computational thinking (CT) skills. New motivational methods are needed to take the attention of students and adapt to their learning patterns as how people learn have changed drastically over the last two decades. To address these issues, video games and video game-based tools are proposed as a primary approach for motivating and supporting students in developing their skills in CT and support their learning of introductory programming. This research is concerned with the capture of statistical evidence on the educational effectiveness of playing a serious game specifically designed to enhance the development of CT skills to facilitate learning introductory computer programming. A total of 190 students were invited to participate in a quasi-experimental pre-post study for the purpose of analyzing the impact of an adhoc game on students' confidence in learning programming constructs and using their skills in CT. All students were studying a CS degree at the time and they were all registered to a first-year computer programming course. 151 out of 190 students successfully completed the study and the findings suggest that a) the intrinsic motivation to learn programming; b) students' perception of their knowledge and their tangible knowledge in key programming constructs (i.e. programming sequence, methods, decision making and loops); and c) students' confidence in using their CT skills were all statistically and significantly improved after playing the game. Additionally, students perceived computer programming significantly less difficult in their post study responses when compared to their pre study responses.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9286386/Computational thinkingserious gamescomputer programmingvideo game designgame-based learninggamification |
| spellingShingle | Cagin Kazimoglu Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming IEEE Access Computational thinking serious games computer programming video game design game-based learning gamification |
| title | Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming |
| title_full | Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming |
| title_short | Enhancing Confidence in Using Computational Thinking Skills via Playing a Serious Game: A Case Study to Increase Motivation in Learning Computer Programming |
| title_sort | enhancing confidence in using computational thinking skills via playing a serious game a case study to increase motivation in learning computer programming |
| topic | Computational thinking serious games computer programming video game design game-based learning gamification |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9286386/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT caginkazimoglu enhancingconfidenceinusingcomputationalthinkingskillsviaplayingaseriousgameacasestudytoincreasemotivationinlearningcomputerprogramming |