Confidence Mediates the Relation Between Enjoyment and Performance on a Computational-Thinking Test

• In Event: Transfer for Learning in the Classroom: Developing Contexts to Examine STEM Learning Skills and Strategies

Abstract

Computational thinking (CT) is widely considered to be a problem-solving competency essential in the repertoire of every 21st-century learner. Recently, academic attention has been directed to the role that meta-cognitive factors play in supporting students’ CT skills. For instance, the relation of factors such as confidence and enjoyment with learning outcomes has yielded mixed results. Thus, the current study explores students’ CT skills in relation to their enjoyment and confidence of taking a CT test. Participants were n = 99 university students enrolled in an introductory educational technology course at a large university in North America. At the beginning of the course, they answered a questionnaire that included a subset of 15 items from CTt, a validated assessment of CT skills. Results showed that confidence in their performance of completing the overall CT test moderated the relation between students’ enjoyment of taking the CT subtest and their performance on the CTt subtest. Specifically, students who reported higher enjoyment levels of taking the CT test significantly outperformed the rest of the students but only when they also reported less confidence of taking the test. Furthermore, findings also revealed that confidence fully mediated the relation between students’ enjoyment and performance. Theoretical implications point to a mechanism through which students’ confidence and enjoyment can improve their CT skills. Elucidating the processes that can enhance students’ CT skills can be helpful to both students and instructors, especially as CT is increasingly integrated in the curricula around the world.

Author

• Maria Cutumisu, University of Alberta