In this paper, we discuss the need for new approaches to research regarding coding to support students in developing practices in computational thinking, such as abstraction and decomposition, in multidisciplinary contexts. We explore students’ activities with a tool integrating constructionist textual programming activity with game-based learning and specifically game modding. In this context, we designed a programmable ‘design-to-play’ game developed with the computational environment MaLT2. MaLT2 offers the affordances of textual programming, dynamic manipulation, and 3D navigation for the design of 3D animated models aiming to give children access to, otherwise, complex, computational and mathematical ideas. To develop an understanding of children's learning activity regarding computational practices, we organised an empirical study with middle-school students, who played a game called ‘Code-the-Mime’. It is a charades-based game in which the players manipulate, programme, and modify a digital human model to describe a word to their teammates. The preliminary findings indicate that the affordances of MaLT2 in conjunction with the game context enabled students to express and develop key computational practices, including decomposition, pattern recognition, analysis and abstraction, in a meaningful and multidisciplinary context.

中文翻译：

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Code the mime：MaLT2 中用于计算思维的 3D 可编程字谜游戏

在本文中，我们讨论了对编码研究的新方法的需求，以支持学生在多学科背景下开发计算思维实践，例如抽象和分解。我们使用将建构主义文本编程活动与基于游戏的学习（特别是游戏模组）相结合的工具来探索学生的活动。在这种情况下，我们设计了一个使用计算环境 MaLT2 开发的可编程“设计到游戏”游戏。MaLT2 为 3D 动画模型的设计提供了文本编程、动态操作和 3D 导航的可供性，旨在让孩子们接触到复杂的计算和数学思想。了解儿童在计算实践方面的学习活动，我们组织了一项针对中学生的实证研究，他们玩了一个名为“Code-the-Mime”的游戏。这是一款基于字谜的游戏，玩家在其中操纵、编程和修改数字人体模型，以向队友描述一个词。初步发现表明，MaLT2 的可供性与游戏环境相结合，使学生能够在有意义的多学科环境中表达和发展关键的计算实践，包括分解、模式识别、分析和抽象。