Coding with Minecraft: The Development of Middle School Students’ Computational Thinking- 29 Nisan 2022

Coding with Minecraft: The Development of Middle School Students’ Computational Thinking

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of Minecraft-based coding activities on computational thinking (CT) of middle school students. CT was conceptualized to encapsulate not only the knowledge of CT skills but also the use of CT practices. The results showed a statistically significant increase in the students’ knowledge of CT concepts after participating in the Minecraft-based coding activities, and that the students mostly made use of loops and events in their computational artifacts. There were no statistically significant differences between students’ scores in terms of gender. Based on artifact-based interviews, the students displayed CT practices of experimenting and iterating, testing and debugging, reusing and remixing, and abstracting and modularizing.

About the speaker

Emine Kutay graduated from Boğaziçi University Computer and Educational Technology in 2017. She then completed the M.A. program in Educational Technology at the same university. She currently teaches ICT and Computer Science at Hisar Schools, İstanbul.