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Scratch Microworlds: Designing Project-Based Introductions to Coding

Published: 21 February 2018 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, we present our experience developing introductory coding environments called Scratch Microworlds. These interactive environments enable learners to get started with coding by creating projects, rather than solving puzzles. The primary educational goal of these microworlds is to engage learners (ages 8 to 14) who otherwise may not be drawn to coding. The microworlds are simplified versions of the Scratch coding environment that contain a small set of blocks and are designed to encourage exploration and experimentation. They are also interest-based, so learners can choose to work on a topic that is motivating to them (such as dance, music, or soccer). We present three main design principles and related challenges that we addressed through the iterative process of developing Scratch Microworlds: (1) how to simplify initial experiences while still supporting creativity, (2) how to provide scaffolding while maintaining learners' agency, and (3) how to provide starting points that spark rather than limit the imagination. We share observations and feedback from workshops with children and educators, which informed our iterative design process. We conclude by considering next steps for providing more entry points into coding that support children as creative thinkers.

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  • (2023)BJC SparksProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569842(451-457)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
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cover image ACM Conferences
SIGCSE '18: Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
February 2018
1174 pages
ISBN:9781450351034
DOI:10.1145/3159450
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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Published: 21 February 2018

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Author Tags

  1. broadening participation
  2. children
  3. coding
  4. cs for all
  5. microworlds
  6. project-based learning
  7. scratch

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SIGCSE '18 Paper Acceptance Rate 161 of 459 submissions, 35%;
Overall Acceptance Rate 1,595 of 4,542 submissions, 35%

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Cited By

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  • (2024)Game-based learning approach in computer science in primary education: A systematic reviewEntertainment Computing10.1016/j.entcom.2023.10061648(100616)Online publication date: Jan-2024
  • (2023)Game-based learning in computer science education: a scoping literature reviewInternational Journal of STEM Education10.1186/s40594-023-00447-210:1Online publication date: 6-Sep-2023
  • (2023)BJC SparksProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569842(451-457)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
  • (2023)Gaming Together, Coding TogetherProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569833(1035-1041)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
  • (2022)Game Design, Gender and Personalities in Programming EducationFrontiers in Computer Science10.3389/fcomp.2022.8249954Online publication date: 8-Feb-2022
  • (2022)Learning Computational Thinking EfficientlyProceedings of the 24th Australasian Computing Education Conference10.1145/3511861.3511869(66-75)Online publication date: 14-Feb-2022
  • (2022)AI + Ethics Curricula for Middle School Youth: Lessons Learned from Three Project-Based CurriculaInternational Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education10.1007/s40593-022-00298-y33:2(325-383)Online publication date: 1-Aug-2022
  • (2021)The Effects of Providing Starter Projects in Open-Ended Scratch ActivitiesProceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education10.1145/3408877.3432390(38-44)Online publication date: 3-Mar-2021
  • (2021)Tooee: A Novel Scratch Extension for K-12 Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Education Using Text-Based Visual BlocksIEEE Access10.1109/ACCESS.2021.31250609(149630-149646)Online publication date: 2021
  • (2020)Let's Chance: Playful Probabilistic Programming for ChildrenExtended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3334480.3383071(1-7)Online publication date: 25-Apr-2020
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