A Gamification-Based Framework for Developing Learning Activities of Computational Thinking

Abstract

Computational thinking resembles a new philosophy in order to approach not only scientific problems but also challenges of everyday life. In recent years, computational thinking reveals more and more as a fundamental skill for everyone. Observing that, the educational community has been interested in the designing of appropriate teaching and pedagogical strategies by incorporating procedures for the cultivation and development of computational thinking during the learning process. In this context, the utilization of gamification aims at activating the participation of students. In particular, a common application of gamification is the empowerment of extrinsic motivation through the integration of grading characteristics comparable with those of video games, such as points, levels, and achievements. However, the activation of external motives, while disregarding the internal ones, may lead to the declination of interest in learning. This work defines a student-centered framework for strengthening the active participation of students using intrinsic motivation for learning and develops a framework for designing educational activities. As a guide to framework application, three prototype scenarios and the corresponding correlations to the computational thinking, gamification and constructivist learning theory goals throughout the learning activities are presented.