Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Computational Thinking in Primary School Through Block-Based Programming

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Radical Solutions and eLearning

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Educational Technology ((LNET))

Abstract

Computational Thinking is one of the main topics on the educational policy agenda of many countries throughout the world. Its introduction into compulsory education is on the way, and there is an urgent need to define how it can be integrated into the class activities. This chapter discusses several advantages and some drawbacks of the use of a visual block based programming environment to foster computational thinking skills in primary schools. A longitudinal study in primary schools using Scratch is reported, and some general considerations are outlined.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Coding and programming are often used interchangeably to indicate the process of ‘writing’ instructions for a computer to execute. However, the etymology of the two words is quite different. Programming refers to the broader activity of analyzing a problem, designing a solution and implementing it. Coding, by contrast, is the stage of implementing solutions in a particular programming language.

  2. 2.

    https://hourofcode.com/.

  3. 3.

    https://codeweek.eu/.

  4. 4.

    https://cs.wellesley.edu/~blocks-and-beyond/home.html.

  5. 5.

    https://code.org.

  6. 6.

    https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/25220070/.

References

  • Armoni, M. (2012). Teaching CS in kindergarten: How early can the pipeline begin? ACM Inroads, 3(4), 18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armoni, M., Meerbaum-Salant, O., & Ben-Ari, M. (2015). From scratch to “real” programming. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 14(4), 25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bau, D., Gray, J., Kelleher, C., Sheldon, J., & Turbak, F. (2017). Learnable programming: Blocks and beyond. arXiv:1705.09413.

  • Begel, A. (1996). LogoBlocks: A graphical programming language for interacting with the world (pp. 62–64). MIT, Boston, MA: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, G., Dowek, G., Abiteboul, S., Archambault, J. P., Balagué, C., Baron, G. L., … & Viéville, T. (2013). L’enseignement de l’informatique en France Il est urgent de ne plus attendre. Rapport de l’Académie des sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocconi, S., Chioccariello, A., Dettori, G., Ferrari, A., & Engelhardt, K. (2016). Developing computational thinking in compulsory education—Implications for policy and practice; EUR 28295 EN. https://doi.org/10.2791/792158.

  • Bottino R.M., & Furinghetti F. (1996), The emerging of teachers’ conceptions of new subjects inserted in mathematics programs: The case of informatics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 30(2), 109–134. (Kluver Academic Publishers). https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00302626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bottino, R., & Chioccariello, A. (2015). Computational thinking: Videogames, educational robotics and other powerful ideas to think with. In KEYCIT: Key Competences in Informatics and ICT, 7, Commentarii Informaticae didacticae (CID) (pp. 301–309) University of Potsdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottino, R. M., Artigue, M., & Noss, R. (2009). Building European collaboration in technology-enhanced learning in mathematics. In N. Balacheff, S. Ludvigsen, T. de Jong, A. Lazonder, & S. Barnes (Eds.), Technology-enhanced learning—Principles and products (pp. 73–87). Milton Keynes, UK: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, N., Sentance, S., Crick, T., & Humphreys, S. (2014). Restart: The Resurgence of Computer Science in UK Schools. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 14. https://doi.org/10.1145/2602484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chioccariello, A., & Freina., L. (2019). Programming to Learn in Primary Schools: Including scratch activities in the curriculum. In Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Games Based Learning (ECGBL). Odense, Denmark, 3–4, October 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Code.org. (2015). Hour of Code website. Retrieved from http://code.org/learn.

  • Cooper, S., Dann, W., & Pausch, R. (2000). Alice: a 3-D tool for introductory programming concepts. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 15(5), 107–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornu, B., & Ralston, A. (Eds.). (1992). The influence of computes and informatics on mathematics and its teaching, Science and Technology Education, 44, (Unesco).

    Google Scholar 

  • diSessa, A. A. (1997, August). Twenty reasons why you should use Boxer (instead of Logo). In Learning & exploring with logo: Proceedings of the sixth European logo conference (pp. 7–27) Budapest, Hungary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Boulay, B. (1986). Some difficulties of learning to program. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2(1), 57–73. https://doi.org/10.2190/3LFX-9RRF-67T8-UVK9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, C., Bell, T., & Tanimoto, S. (2014). Should Your 8-year-old learn coding? In Proceedings of the 9th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (pp. 60–69). https://doi.org/10.1145/2670757.2670774.

  • Fraser, N. (2015, October). Ten things we’ve learned from Blockly. In 2015 IEEE Blocks and Beyond Workshop (Blocks and Beyond) (pp. 49–50), IEEE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freina, L., Bottino, R., & Ferlino, L. (2018). A learning path in support of computational thinking in the last years of Primary School. In Proceedings of the Game and Learning Alliance International Conference (GALA). Palermo, Italy, 5–7 December 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gander, W., Petit, A., Berry, G., Demo, B., Vahrenhold, J., McGettrick, A., … & Meyer, B. (2013). Informatics education: Europe cannot afford to miss the boat. ACM. http://europe.acm.org/iereport/ie.html.

  • Geldreich, K., Simon, A., & Hubwieser, P. (2018). A design-based research approach for introducing algorithmics and programming to Bavarian Primary Schools. MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, 33, 53–75. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/33/2019.02.15.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2018). Computational thinking: A competency whose time has come. In S. Sentance, E. Barendsen, & S. Carsten (Eds.), Computer science education: Perspectives on teaching and learning in school (1st ed., pp. 19–38). Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grover, S., Pea, R., & Cooper, S. (2015). Designing for deeper learning in a blended computer science course for middle school students. Computer Science Education, 25(2), 199–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, B., & Mönig, J. (2017). Snap! reference manual. http://snap.berkeley.edu/SnapManual.pdf.

  • Johnstone, R. (2003). Never mind the laptops: Kids, computers, and the transformation of learning. Lincoln: iUniverse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maloney, J., Resnick, M., Rusk, N., Silverman, B., & Eastmond, E. (2010). The scratch programming language and environment. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 10(4), 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • MEFP (2018). Programación, robótica y pensamiento computacional en el aula. Situación en España y propuesta normativa. Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional. http://code.intef.es/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ponencia-sobre-Pensamiento-Computacional.-Informe-Final.pdf.

  • MIUR. (2015). Piano Nazionale Scuola Digitale, http://www.istruzione.it/scuola_digitale/allegati/Materiali/pnsd-layout-30.10-WEB.pdf.

  • OECD. (2015). Students, computers and learning: making the connection. PISA: OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264239555-en.

  • Outlier Research & Evaluation, The University of Chicago. (2015). EVALUATION OF CODE.ORG COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS Evaluation Year 1: 2014–2015. http://outlier.uchicago.edu/evaluation_codeorg/.

  • Outlier Research & Evaluation, The University of Chicago. (2016). EVALUATION OF CODE.ORG COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS Evaluation Year 2: 2015–16. https://code.org/files/EvaluationReport2015-16.pdf.

  • Palumbo, D. B. (1990). Programming language/problem-solving research: A review of relevant issues. Review of Educational Research, 60(1), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543060001065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Book.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, M., & Siegel, D. (2015). A different approach to coding. International Journal of People-Oriented Programming, 4(1), 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., … & Kafai, Y. B. (2009). Scratch: Programming for all. Communications of the ACM, 52(11), 60–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sáez-López, J. M., Román-González, M., & Vázquez-Cano, E. (2016). Visual programming languages integrated across the curriculum in elementary school: A two year case study using “Scratch” in five schools. Computers & Education, 97, 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.03.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strawhacker, A., Lee, M., Caine, C., & Bers, M. (2015, June). Scratch Jr. Demo: A coding language for Kindergarten. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 414–417), ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velázquez-Iturbide, J. Á. (2018, October). Report of the Spanish computing scientific society on computing education in pre-university stages. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality (pp. 2–7), ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weintrop, D., & Wilensky, U. (2015, June). To block or not to block, that is the question: students’ perceptions of blocks-based programming. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 199–208), ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weintrop, D., & Wilensky, U. (2017). Comparing block-based and text-based programming in high school computer science classrooms. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 18(1), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, J. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, J., & Roque, R. (2018, June). A survey of computational kits for young children. In Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 289–299), ACM.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the students and teachers from the “De Scalzi” primary school in Genoa for making the project possible, and Jeffrey Earp for language revision of the original manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ITD-CNR, Via de Marini 6, 16149, Genoa, Italy

    Rosa Bottino, Augusto Chioccariello & Laura Freina

Authors
  1. Rosa Bottino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Augusto Chioccariello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Laura Freina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rosa Bottino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Innovation & Technology in Education (UNIR iTED), Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Logroño, Spain

    Daniel Burgos

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Bottino, R., Chioccariello, A., Freina, L. (2020). Computational Thinking in Primary School Through Block-Based Programming. In: Burgos, D. (eds) Radical Solutions and eLearning. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4952-6_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4952-6_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-4951-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-4952-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation