The Influence of Technology-Enhanced Programming Environments and the Impact of Teacher Guidance and Interventions on Computational Thinking Development

Programming in education through the application of technology-enhanced learning environments can contribute to the development and understanding of computer science concepts and skills important for developing computational thinking (CT). However, the question that arises is to what extent variations of technology applications can evoke a difference in yield and whether, depending on the chosen platform, this also requires specific skills of the supervising teacher. In this regard, it is interesting to determine whether differences in the development of CT may arise when comparing the application of technology-enhanced plugged and unplugged programming environments, and whether the type of guidance and intervention methodology used by the teacher has a distinguishing effect. Therefore, a quantitative study was conducted among elementary school students and elementary school teachers from the Netherlands comparing the effects of using both plugged Scratch robotic programming environments and unplugged Bomberbot robotic programming environments. The results of our study show that learning to programming in technology-enhanced plugged and unplugged programming environments both have a positive measurable effect on the overall development of CT. It could also be inferred that significant effects could be identified on the CT sub-characteristics of "sequencing," "simple-loops" and "nested-loops”. In our study, it was also found that learners developed more skills in CT when teachers applied both monitoring and scaffolding techniques during technology-enhanced programming lessons in a comparison with more directive forms of guidance and instruction applied by the supervising teacher. In summary, strengthening CT skills during technology-enhanced programming activities requires, in addition to facilitative programming environments and an understanding of the importance of acquiring complex concepts of programming, adequate and supportive guidance, monitoring and intervention techniques as applied by the supervising teacher. It is therefore recommended that supervising teachers, apart from their content expertise, are aware of the possibilities and added value of the instructional methodology used during technology-enhanced programming activities, or continue to professionalize in this field.