Initial Steps in Teaching Python at Lower Secondary School Using the Platform Codeboard.io

Abstract

Even though there is a trend to integrate programming through Python into education in lower secondary schools, Python is usually assumed to be more appropriate for older students. Besides, few teaching guidelines or materials are offered to teachers on programming through Python at lower secondary schools. Therefore, this study in an ordinary public lower secondary school in Prague, Czech Republic, tested guidelines for introductory steps in teaching Python (using the platform Codeboard.io) to eighth-grade students (N = 60). The study aimed to investigate how programming in Python can be introduced in lower secondary schools and examine how suitable the programming in Python is for students aged 13–14. The teaching approach to Python was based on student’s motivation to design their own game using RPG Maker. The authors found out that the key factors influencing lower secondary school students’ understanding of text-based programming languages are, primarily, a teacher’s expertise in computer science and programming, a student’s motivation and her/his previous experiences with programming.

Appendices

Appendices

1.1 Appendix 19.1: Activities in Python in Lessons L1–L5 (Activity #2)

L1	What’s going on at the console? # edit the greeting variable to include the word hello and then print the variable to the console	L1 solution: 3 + 5 = 8 addition 2*2 = 4 multiplication 4 / 2 = 2 division 10%6 = 4 modulo (remainder after division) L1 solution: greeting = “hello” print(greeting) # hello
L2	# one line below, create a variable name that will contain any name # use the variable called my_name # one line below, fill the output variable with any name and the phrase rides a bike. Using the variable my_name # example of ascent: Peter rides a bike. # use the variable −> output	L2 solution: my_name = “Peter” output = my_name + “rides a bike.” print(output) # Peter rides a bike
L3	# create a program that calculates the perimeter and content of the rectangle	L3 solution print(“Enter sizes of the sides of the rectangle:”) a = int(input(“a:”)) b = int(input(“b:”)) circumference = a * 2 + b * 2 content = a * b print(“Content:”, content) print(“Circumference:”, circumference)
L4	# create a program that computes the contents of an equilateral triangle # the user can enter any page size	L4 solution a = input(“Enter length of a: ”) content = (a * a) / 2
L5	Test: Show what you have learned	see Appendix 19.2

1.2 Appendix 19.2: Questionnaire “Show What You Have Learned” (Activity #2)

What does the following program do (what could it be used for)? What is written to the console?

Q1	greetings = “Hello” print(greetings)
Q2	name = input(“What is your name?”) print(“My name is” + name)
Q3	number_1 = 20 number = 15 print(number_1 + number_2)
Q4	number_1 = 7 number_2 = 4 result = (number_1 * number_2) / 2 print(result)
Q5	height = int(input(“How tall are you?”)) If height > 120: print(“You can ride the train.”) else: print(“You are not tall enough, you cannot ride the train..”
Q6	number = “3” result = number * 3 print(result)
Q7	print(“Enter sizes of the sides of the rectangle:”) a = int(input(“a:”)) b = int(input(“b:”)) circumference = a * 2 + b * 2 content = a * b print(“Content:”, content) print(“Circumference:”, circumference)
Q8	mass = int(input(“How much do you weight?”)) height = int(input(“How tall are you?”)) bmi = mass / (height/100 * height/100) print(“Your BMIis: ”, bmi)
Q9	Find a bug in the following programs greetings = hello print(greetings) name = “Peter” If name == Peter:  print(Hello, Peter)
Q10	Explain these concepts: Console Variable print() Condition If else input()

1.3 Appendix 19.3: A Final Questionnaire (at the End of Activity #3)

• 1. Have you ever programmed a game in the past? In what environment? And what game?

• 2. What intrigued you about programming a game in RPG Maker? Story? Method of programming? Creating in RPG Maker?

• 3. Did you consider working on a game in RPG Maker to be programming? And why?

• 4. Do you see any connection between what you did in Python and how you created the game in RPG Maker?

  What did you learn when programming in Python? What do you learn from teaching about Python? What exactly do you remember from teaching about Python?