skip to main content
10.1145/3159450.3162308acmconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagessigcseConference Proceedingsconference-collections
poster

How Perceptions of Programming Differ in Children with and without Prior Experience: (Abstract Only)

Published: 21 February 2018 Publication History

Abstract

The computing and STEM industries face challenges in attracting people to fill expanding needs. The literature shows that computing preconceptions shape interest in and impact decisions of whether or not to enter computing disciplines, especially for women and underrepresented minorities. In this study, our research questions focused on how perceptions of programming in elementary and middle school students varied based on prior programming experience. We examined the programming constructs they found challenging. Our study was in the context of a week-long summer camp dedicated to Scratch-based game development. We conducted semi-structured interviews at the beginning, middle, and end of the weeklong program with 28 students who agreed to participate. During the interviews, we asked students about their perceptions of programming in general and which programming constructs they found easy and/or hard. We found that all students perceived programming as a means of creating artifacts, but that students with prior programming experience went deeper by associating programming with process and function. We also characterize the specific Scratch programming constructs that beginning versus experienced children perceive as easy and/or hard. These findings will help experts and educators better understand how children think about programming and how experience changes these perceptions over time. These findings also have implications on the design of curricula and instructional resources to address difficulties children face while learning to program.

References

[1]
L. Cassel, A. McGettrick, M. Guzdial, E. Roberts, The current crisis in computing: What are the real issues?, in: 38th SIGCSE Tech. Symp. Comput. Sci. Educ., 2007: pp. 329--330.
[2]
M. Biggers, A. Brauer, T. Yilmaz, Student perceptions of computer science: A retention study comparing graduating seniors with CS leavers, ACM SIGCSE Bull. 40 (2008) 402--406.
[3]
S. Grover, R. Pea, S. Cooper. Factors influencing computer science learning in middle school. in: Proc. 47th ACM Tech. Symp. Comput. Sci. Educ., 2016: pp. 552--557.

Cited By

View all
  • (2023)“Everybody’s searching their roots”: centering Black nature-cultures of belonging in non-compulsory computer science educationComputer Science Education10.1080/08993408.2023.226837834:4(829-863)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2023
  • (2022)Connecting Spaces: Gender, Video Games and Computing in the Early TeensSociological Perspectives10.1177/0731121422112580266:2(201-225)Online publication date: 11-Oct-2022
  • (2020)First steps into STEM for young pupils through informal workshops2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274139(1-5)Online publication date: 21-Oct-2020
  • Show More Cited By

Index Terms

  1. How Perceptions of Programming Differ in Children with and without Prior Experience: (Abstract Only)

      Recommendations

      Comments

      Information & Contributors

      Information

      Published In

      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 part or all 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 third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

      Sponsors

      Publisher

      Association for Computing Machinery

      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      Published: 21 February 2018

      Check for updates

      Author Tags

      1. child
      2. computer science education
      3. elementary school
      4. game programming
      5. learning programming
      6. middle school
      7. programming experience
      8. scratch
      9. summer camp

      Qualifiers

      • Poster

      Conference

      SIGCSE '18
      Sponsor:

      Acceptance Rates

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

      Upcoming Conference

      SIGCSE TS 2025
      The 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
      February 26 - March 1, 2025
      Pittsburgh , PA , USA

      Contributors

      Other Metrics

      Bibliometrics & Citations

      Bibliometrics

      Article Metrics

      • Downloads (Last 12 months)0
      • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0
      Reflects downloads up to 15 Feb 2025

      Other Metrics

      Citations

      Cited By

      View all
      • (2023)“Everybody’s searching their roots”: centering Black nature-cultures of belonging in non-compulsory computer science educationComputer Science Education10.1080/08993408.2023.226837834:4(829-863)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2023
      • (2022)Connecting Spaces: Gender, Video Games and Computing in the Early TeensSociological Perspectives10.1177/0731121422112580266:2(201-225)Online publication date: 11-Oct-2022
      • (2020)First steps into STEM for young pupils through informal workshops2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274139(1-5)Online publication date: 21-Oct-2020
      • (2019)The Relationship Between Learner Characteristics and Student Outcomes in a Middle School Computing Course: An Exploratory Analysis Using Structural Equation ModelingJournal of Research on Technology in Education10.1080/15391523.2018.155302451:1(63-76)Online publication date: 11-Feb-2019

      View Options

      View options

      Figures

      Tables

      Media

      Share

      Share

      Share this Publication link

      Share on social media