The Impact of Sequence of Lessons and Practices in Explicit Instruction on Middle School Students' Performance in Computer Science Classrooms

• In Event: Understand Learning With Technology

Abstract

Explicit instruction is an effective way to teach programming. However, there has been a scarcity of research on how lessons and practices should be sequenced. To address this issue, we compared two instructional designs of the same curriculum on middle school students’ performance in computer science class such as the end of semester project grade, quality of their project completion, and their remixing practices. Both of the curricula was built based on explicit instruction and have the same scripted project building lessons to teach computer science concepts, but they varied in terms of the sequence of lessons and practices. Results exhibited differences in terms of performance in the course and students’ gender.We discuss implications for future research and practice.

Author

• Tuba Ketenci, Georgia Institute of Technology