The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence

Sarantos Psycharis; Evangelia Kotzampasaki

doi:10.29333/ejmste/103071

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Sarantos Psycharis ¹ ^* , Evangelia Kotzampasaki ²

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¹ Professor School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, ASPETE, Athens, GREECE² School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, ASPETE, Athens, GREECE^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Computational thinking is an ability which is considered to be essential for the process of problem solving in every science. The current empirical research aims to study the impact of a STEM content Inquiry based scenario using computational tools and educational games, regarding computational thinking (CT) and confidence for “computers use” of 115 students of Greek public schools of the 5^th-6^th grade. For the needs of this research, a didactic scenario was developed and implemented, using computational tools, such as the Arduino microcontroller, RGB Led’s while a computational model was designed and implemented. The assessment of computational thinking improvement and confidence for computers use was conducted with the use of questionnaires that were administered before and after the intervention. The findings indicate a positive influence of the intervention on the dimensions of computational thinking in the experimental group. The findings can be applied to educational settings that integrate STEM in the teaching sequence in order to enhance students’ confidence with computational experiments.

Keywords

computational thinking
STEM
game learning
Arduino
computational pedagogy
self-confidence

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 15, Issue 4, April 2019, Article No: em1689

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

Publication date: 21 Jan 2019

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APA

Psycharis, S., & Kotzampasaki, E. (2019). The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(4), em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

Vancouver

Psycharis S, Kotzampasaki E. The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(4):em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

AMA

Psycharis S, Kotzampasaki E. The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(4), em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

Chicago

Psycharis, Sarantos, and Evangelia Kotzampasaki. "The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2019 15 no. 4 (2019): em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

Harvard

Psycharis, S., and Kotzampasaki, E. (2019). The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(4), em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071

MLA

Psycharis, Sarantos et al. "The Impact of a STEM Inquiry Game Learning Scenario on Computational Thinking and Computer Self-confidence". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 15, no. 4, 2019, em1689. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/103071