Computational thinking and coding subject in primary schools: Methodological approach based on alternative cooperative and individual learning cycles

Abstract

Many countries have included or consider to include computational thinking in their educational curricula. This creates the need for a carefully planned educational approach involving different stakeholders as policymakers, educators and students. These stakeholders are the main carriers of the educational reforms thus their perspectives create various challenges and risks. In this paper, we propose a pedagogical approach of teaching coding through games and gamification of the learning process. The flipped classroom is used in order to address the shortcomings in teacher training and deliver learning outcomes in student-centred, fun and engaging way. Proposed solution includes a spiral curriculum implemented in 4 cycles that alternate cooperative and individual learning approach. The approach was evaluated with more than 199 students from 6 different schools. Evaluation analyses were focused on the achieved learning experience identifying differences between male and female students, as well as students with different level of access to ICT resources. The results confirm the benefits of the proposed solution.