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International Conference on Intelligent Human Computer Interaction

IHCI 2021: Intelligent Human Computer Interaction pp 325–336Cite as

Effects of Computer-Based (Scratch) and Robotic (Cozmo) Coding Instruction on Seventh Grade Students’ Computational Thinking, Competency Beliefs, and Engagement

Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNCS,volume 13184)

Abstract

The purpose of this pre-/posttest quasi-experimental study was to examine the effects of coding activities supported by the emotional educational robot Cozmo on seventh grade students’ computational thinking, competency beliefs, and engagement compared to the computer-based program of Scratch. Two versions of the coding curriculum were developed that shared the same content and instructional features but differed in the code blocks used in each program. Two intact classes at a public middle school in the Midwestern United States participated in the study during the regularly scheduled Technology course. One class received the Scratch coding curriculum (n = 21), and the other class received the robotics coding curriculum (n = 22).

Results revealed non-significant posttest differences in computational thinking and competency beliefs among the Scratch and Cozmo interventions. However, students found Cozmo to be significantly more engaging than Scratch. Both interventions significantly improved students’ computational thinking and competency beliefs from pre- to posttest.

This study contributes to the emerging literature on coding education in a public school setting. The positive gains in the cognitive and affective domains of learning can serve as a point of reference for researchers, designers, and educators with the desire to introduce students to coding.

Keywords

  • Educational robotics
  • Scratch
  • Cozmo
  • Computational thinking
  • Competency beliefs
  • Engagement

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Shannon Smith, Elena Novak, Jason Schenker & Chia-Ling Kuo

Authors
  1. Shannon Smith
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  2. Elena Novak
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  3. Jason Schenker
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  4. Chia-Ling Kuo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shannon Smith .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Jong-Hoon Kim

  2. University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Madhusudan Singh

  3. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Javed Khan

  4. Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, India

    Prof. Uma Shanker Tiwary

  5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Prof. Marigankar Sur

  6. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Dhananjay Singh

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Smith, S., Novak, E., Schenker, J., Kuo, CL. (2022). Effects of Computer-Based (Scratch) and Robotic (Cozmo) Coding Instruction on Seventh Grade Students’ Computational Thinking, Competency Beliefs, and Engagement. In: Kim, JH., Singh, M., Khan, J., Tiwary, U.S., Sur, M., Singh, D. (eds) Intelligent Human Computer Interaction. IHCI 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13184. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98404-5_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98404-5_31

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