Abstract
One of the latest trends in the educational landscape is the introduction of computer programming in the K-12 classroom to develop computational thinking in students. As computational thinking is not a skill exclusively related to computer science, it is assumed – but not yet scientifically proven – that the problem solving process may be generalized and transferred to a wide variety of problems. This paper presents a research designed to test whether the use of coding in Maths classes could have a positive impact on learning outcomes of students in their mathematical skills. Therefore, the questions we want to investigate in this paper are if the use of programming in Maths classes improves (a) modeling process and reality phenomena, (b) reasoning, (c) problem formulation and problem solving, and (d) comparison and execution of procedures and algorithms. We have therefore designed a quantitative, quasi-experimental experiment with 42 participating 6th grade (11 and 12 years old) students. Results show that there is a statistically significant increase in the understanding of mathematical processes in the experimental group, which received training in Scratch.
References
Brown, Q., Mongan, W., Kusic, D., Garbarine, E., Fromm, E., Fontecchio, A.: Computer aided instruction as a vehicle for problem solving: Scratch programming environment in the middle years classroom (2013). Accessed on September 22
Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K.: Research Methods in Education. Routledge, 2 ParkSquare, MiltonPark, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN (2007)
CSTA, ISTE: Computational thinking, teachers resources. Technical report, CSTA and ISTE (2011). http://www.csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/CurrFiles/472.11CTTeacherResources_2ed-SP-vF.pdf
Denning, P.J.: The profession of it beyond computational thinking. Commun. ACM 52(6), 28–30 (2009)
Giordano, D., Maiorana, F.: Use of cutting edge educational tools for an initial programming course. In: Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2014 IEEE. pp. 556–563. IEEE (2014)
Gülbahar, Y., Kalelioğlu, F.: The effects of teaching programming via Scratch on problem solving skills: a discussion from learners perspective. Inform. Educ. Int. J. 13(1), 33–50 (2014)
Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., Baptista Lucio, P.: Metodología de la Investigación, 5th edn. McGraw-Hill, Mexico (2010)
Ke, F.: An implementation of design-based learning through creating educational computer games: a case study on mathematics learning during design and computing. Comput. & Educ. 73, 26–39 (2014)
Lai, A.F., Yang, S.M.: The learning effect of visualized programming learning on 6th graders’ problem solving and logical reasoning abilities. In: 2011 International Conference on Electrical and Control Engineering (ICECE), pp. 6940–6944. IEEE (2011)
Lai, C.S., Lai, M.H.: Using computer programming to enhance science learning for 5th graders in Taipei. In: 2012 International Symposium on Computer, Consumer and Control (IS3C), pp. 146–148. IEEE (2012)
Lewis, C.M., Shah, N.: Building upon and enriching grade four mathematics standards with programming curriculum. In: Proceedings of the 43rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. pp. 57–62. ACM (2012)
Lye, S.Y., Koh, J.H.L.: Review on teaching and learning of computational thinking through programming: what is next for K-12? Comput. Hum. Behav. 41, 51–61 (2014)
OECD: Pisa 2012 results: What students know and can do student performance in mathematics, reading and science (volume i, revised edition, February 2014). Technical report, OECD (2014). http://www.content/book/9789264208780-en
OECD: Does math make you anxious? Technical report, OECD (2015). http://www.content/workingpaper/5js6b2579tnx-en
Papert, S., Solomon, C.: Twenty things to do with a computer. In: Soloway, E., Spohrer, J.C. (eds.) Studying the Novice Programmer. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale (1971)
Resnick, M.: Point of view: reviving papert’s dream. Educ. Technol. 52(4), 42 (2012)
Resnick, M.: Learn to code, code to learn. How programming prepares kids for more than math. EdSurge 8 (2013)
Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., Millner, A., Rosenbaum, E., Silver, J., Silverman, B., et al.: Scratch: programming for all. Commun. ACM 52(11), 60–67 (2009)
Schoolnet, E.: Computing our future. computer programming and coding priorities, school curricula and initiatives across europe. Technical report European Schoolnet (2014). http://www.eun.org/publications/detail?publicationID=481
Settle, A., Perkovic, L.: Computational thinking across the curriculum: a conceptual framework. Technical, report college of Computing and Digital Media Technical report(2010)
Wang, H.Y., Huang, I., Hwang, G.J.: Effects of an integrated Scratch and project-based learning approach on the learning achievements of gifted students in computer courses. In: 2014 IIAI 3rd International Conference on Advanced Applied Informatics (IIAIAAI), pp. 382–387. IEEE (2014)
Wing, J.M.: Computational thinking. Commun. ACM 49(3), 33–35 (2006)
Zavala, L.A., Gallardo, S.C.H., García-Ruíz, M.Á.: Designing interactive activities within Scratch 2.0 for improving abilities to identify numerical sequences. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. pp. 423–426. ACM (2013)
Acknowledgments
The work of Jesús Moreno-León and Gregorio Robles has been funded in part under project “eMadrid - Investigación y Desarrollo de tecnologías para el e-learning en la Comunidad de Madrid” (S2013/ICE-2715) funded by the Region of Madrid. The work of Gregorio Robles has been funded in part by the Spanish Government under project SobreSale (TIN2011- 28110).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Calao, L.A., Moreno-León, J., Correa, H.E., Robles, G. (2015). Developing Mathematical Thinking with Scratch. In: Conole, G., Klobučar, T., Rensing, C., Konert, J., Lavoué, E. (eds) Design for Teaching and Learning in a Networked World. EC-TEL 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9307. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24258-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24258-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24257-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24258-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)