The Effect of Music Producing on Computational Thinking Among Primary School Students in Childcare

L.J.A. Fanchamps*, Emily Van Gool, Jerome van Dongen, Metske Straus, Kim De Meyst

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference Article in proceedingAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Stimulating creativity can make an important contribution to computational thinking (CT) of elementary school students who attend childcare after school. Since learning goes beyond time spent in school, it makes sense to offer students in childcare-centres meaningful CT-activities that exceed more common applications of technology for CT development, like programmable robots or serious games. Such approaches provide, besides a focus on visual modality, promising opportunities emphasising auditory modality. Reasoning from such different contextual perspective, it’s interesting to explore whether self-creation of electronic music using music-producing software has an effect on CT-development, and what added value can be attributed to creativity. Therefore, an experimental mixed methods-study was conducted among elementary school students aged 10 to 13 within a childcare setting using FL Studio © music producing software. Quantitative data were obtained by pretest-post test-assessment administering the validated Computational Thinking test (CTt). Qualitative data were obtained conducting interviews and observations during and after each session asking questions to what magnitude students grasped CT sub-characteristics, to what extent creativity and creative thinking played a role, and what perceptions students themselves had in this regard. Our results indicate that applying music-making software has a significant effect on CT-development where the focus is on the invocation and utilisation of auditory modality. Remarkable effects could be identified on CT-(sub)characteristics ‘loops,’ ‘conditionals,’ ‘nesting,’ and required CT-tasks. Our study also found that technology enhanced music producing stimulates creativity, which appears an important parameter regarding CT-development. It is recommended to conduct further research on the intersection between CT and creativity using combinations of different modalities.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe 8th APSCE International Conference on Computational Thinking and STEM Education
Subtitle of host publicationCTE-STEM 2024
PublisherAsia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education
Pages7-11
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)2664-5661
Publication statusPublished - May 2024
EventThe 8th APSCE International Conference on Computational Thinking and STEM Education - Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Duration: 28 May 202430 May 2024
https://ctestem24.bnu.edu.cn/

Conference

ConferenceThe 8th APSCE International Conference on Computational Thinking and STEM Education
Abbreviated titleCTE-STEM 2024
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period28/05/2430/05/24
Internet address

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