Abstract
In this study, based on quasi-experimental research, was investigated the effects of teaching Python programming language via Blockly tool, which had hybrid interface, on students’ computer programming anxiety, cognitive load level, and achievement. Participants were 90 high school students, 44 of them in experimental group (hybrid interface) and 46 of them in control group (non-hybrid interface). According to results, there was a meaningful difference between programming achievement scores of students in favor of experimental group while there was no difference in terms of computer programming anxiety between groups. Moreover, after 10-week implementation process, students’ anxiety increased in each group. It was found out cognitive load levels of both groups in the first week were higher than final week. Although both weekly and 10-week intrinsic, extraneous, germane, and total cognitive load levels of experimental group were lower than control group, there was no significantly difference between groups. Consequently, it can be said that programming via hybrid interface, using Blockly, has not an effect on students’ computer programming anxiety positively whereas it helps to keep cognitive load at low level and to increase students’ programming success more. It is recommended that considering these results to make computer programming education is more efficient in high schools and administrators encourage the teachers to use programming tool had hybrid interface such as Blockly.
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The datasets generated during this study are not publicly available but data will be provided by the corresponding author upon request.
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This study was derived from a part of the first author’s Master’s Thesis and organized by under the supervision second author. Retrieved from Council of Higher Education database in Turkey. (Thesis No. 551146)
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics committee approval was received for this study from Ministry of National Education in Turkey (Approval Date: May 15, 2018; Approval Number: 98057890- 605.01-E.9496638), and from the Ethics Committee of Atatürk University Graduate School of Educational Sciences (Approval Date: May 23, 2018; Approval Number: 88179374-300-E.1800159222).
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Unal, A., Topu, F.B. Effects of teaching a computer programming language via hybrid interface on anxiety, cognitive load level and achievement of high school students. Educ Inf Technol 26, 5291–5309 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10536-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10536-w