research-article

Creative Choice in Fifth Grade Computing Curriculum

Authors:

Zoë WoodAuthors Info & Claims

ITiCSE '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

Pages 252 - 258

https://doi.org/10.1145/3341525.3387405

Published: 15 June 2020 Publication History

Abstract

We examine the effects of creative choice in fifth grade computer science curriculum on students' engagement/preferences, performance, and self-efficacy (n=107). This work is rooted in evaluating creativity as a tool to increase engagement in elementary school computer science education by studying a group of one hundred fifth grade students at a public charter school in California. The work occurred within a year long computing curriculum focused on introducing students to programming. To experimentally evaluate creative choice over a six week period, we created several instances of two variants of worksheets for the students - creative worksheets and more rigid worksheets, alternating control and experimental groupings. After the treatment, surveys and quizzes were used to evaluate students' experiences and learning. We found that students benefit from a blend of creative and structured instructions and can feel a sense of ownership with even limited versions of creative choice. In addition, student performance was not affected by our different treatments.

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Cited By

Shehzad URecker MClarke-Midura JDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)A Literature Review Examining Broadening Participation in Upper Elementary CS EducationProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569873(570-576)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569873
Schmalfeldt TMaurer B(2021)Kreativität in der informatischen Bildungmerz | medien + erziehung10.21240/merz/2021.5.265:5(10-23)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2021
https://doi.org/10.21240/merz/2021.5.2

Index Terms

Creative Choice in Fifth Grade Computing Curriculum
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education

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cover image ACM Conferences

ITiCSE '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

June 2020

615 pages

ISBN:9781450368742

DOI:10.1145/3341525

General Chairs:
Michail Giannakos
NTNU, Norway
,
Guttorm Sindre
Excited/NTNU, Norway
,
Program Chairs:
Andrew Luxton-Reilly
University of Auckland, NZ
,
Monica Divitini
NTNU, Norway

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Published: 15 June 2020

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Cited By

Shehzad URecker MClarke-Midura JDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)A Literature Review Examining Broadening Participation in Upper Elementary CS EducationProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569873(570-576)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569873
Schmalfeldt TMaurer B(2021)Kreativität in der informatischen Bildungmerz | medien + erziehung10.21240/merz/2021.5.265:5(10-23)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2021
https://doi.org/10.21240/merz/2021.5.2

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