Learning computer science concepts with Scratch

Orni Meerbaum-Salant, Michal Armoni, Mordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari
2013 Computer Science Education  
Scratch is a visual programming environment that is widely used by young people. We investigated if Scratch can be used to teach concepts of computer science. We developed new learning materials for middle-school students that were designed according to the constructionist philosophy of Scratch and evaluated them in two schools. The classes were normal classes, not extracurricular activities whose participants are self-selected. Questionnaires and a test were constructed based upon a novel
more » ... nation of the Revised Bloom Taxonomy and the SOLO taxonomy. These quantitative instruments were augmented with a qualitative analysis of observations within the classes. The results showed that in general students could successfully learn important concepts of computer science, although there were some problems with initialization, variables and concurrency; these problems can be overcome by modifications to the teaching process.
doi:10.1080/08993408.2013.832022 fatcat:pabq57a3qrfhhgb6bemzwmjigi