Investigating the use of virtual worlds to teach basics of programming to children: a multiple case study

Download
2018
Battal, Ali
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the use of VWs in teaching basics of programming for children in different educational programs. More specifically, the current study aims to examine the perception of participants about the ease of use and perceived usefulness of VWs in programming education, the affordances and challenges of using virtual worlds, issues and strategies for the group study, design issues of different educational programs in VWs, factors that affect satisfaction, and avatar issues. In this context, this study was implemented in three different educational programs constituting the single cases of the study as; curricular, extra-curricular, and after-school programs. The multiple case study was employed among the qualitative designs. In this context, data were collected mainly through interviews, observations and questionnaires from students and teachers in each case separately. Qualitative analysis and descriptive statistics were applied to data obtained for single case analysis of each case. Then cross-case analysis was employed in order to reveal the similarities and differences across the cases at the end of the study. The results of the current study showed that students perceived VW as useful and used them for learning programming without major difficulties. Having fun, personal contributions, gaining experience on 3D, facilitating group study and motivation were the affordances of using VWs, whilst participants encountered challenges related to the 3D environment, equipment and infrastructure and tasks. Additionally, the results vi indicated the important issues and strategies for avatars, group study and the design of educational programs in the virtual learning environment. Students’ satisfaction in each case was defined and factors affecting their satisfaction were addressed. Finally, similarities and differences across the cases were discussed based on the sub-research questions in the light of the literature. The findings of this current study might help to understand the use of VWs in programming education for children in three different educational programs, and also provide a basis for educators and other researchers in using VWs for the teaching programming.

Suggestions

Investigating Effect of Origami-Based Instruction on Elementary Students' Spatial Skills and Perceptions
Cakmak, Sedanur; Işıksal Bostan, Mine; KOÇ, YUSUF (Informa UK Limited, 2014-01-02)
The authors' purpose was to investigate the effect of origami-based instruction on elementary students' spatial ability. The students' self-reported perceptions related to the origami-based instruction were also examined. Data was collected via purposive sampling techniques from students enrolled in a private elementary school. A spatial ability test (SAT) was used to measure the students' ability in mentally manipulating objects and their parts in 2- and 3-dimensional spaces. In addition to the SAT, reflec...
Investigating the impact of teacher education strategies on preservice teachers' TPACK
Baran, Evrim; BİLİCİ, SEDEF CANBAZOĞLU; ALBAYRAK SARI, AYLİN; Tondeur, Jo (Wiley, 2019-01-01)
The purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers' perceptions of the support their teacher education programs provide for developing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The research was conducted with 215 preservice teachers in the last year of teacher education programs and teaching certificate programs in three universities in Turkey. Data sources were the synthesis of qualitative evidence (SQD) scale that was validated in the Turkish context as part of this study and th...
An investigation into the implementation of alternative assessment in the young learner classroom
Çetin, Lynn Marie Bethard; Özbek Gürbüz, Nurdan; Department of English Language Teaching (2011)
The purpose of this study was to explore and develop a better understanding of the implementation of alternative assessment in the young learner classroom. This in-depth, qualitative study focuses on teachers’ practices and beliefs, as well as the student perspective and the role of alternative assessment in the instructional process. Case studies were carried out on nine different English language teachers and their use of alternative assessment strategies and tools over a six month period in their first, ...
Noticing Student Mathematical Thinking Within the Context of Lesson Study
GÜNER, Pınar; Akyüz, Didem (SAGE Publications, 2019-12-21)
The purpose of this study is to investigate a preservice middle school mathematics teacher's noticing of student mathematical thinking within the context of lesson study as a component of a teaching practicum course in a teacher education program. This study also examines how preservice teacher education experiences in the context of lesson study influence the noticing skill of the participant preservice teacher, Lisa. Results indicated that the lesson study process supported teacher noticing of student mat...
In-service Preschool Teachers' Thoughts about Technology and Technology Use in Early Educational Settings
Kara, Nuri; Çağıltay, Kürşat (2017)
The purpose of this study is to understand in-service preschool teachers’ thoughts about technology and technology use in early educational settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 in-service preschool teachers. These teachers were selected from public and private preschools. Convenient sampling was applied because teachers who were eager to attend the study were selected. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. Based on the content analysis, eleven main themes as to tech...
Citation Formats
A. Battal, “Investigating the use of virtual worlds to teach basics of programming to children: a multiple case study,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2018.