Computer science experimenter s kit for use in preschool ...

p. 1 Computer Science Experimenter‘s Kit | Gärtig- Daugs & Weitz | WIPSCE 2016

Computer science experimenter´s kit for use in

preschool and primary school Anja Gärtig-Daugs, Katharina Weitz, Maike Wolking, Ute Schmid

Research group of elementary computer science

University of Bamberg

[email protected]


Overview

• Research group

• Project steps

• Theoretical background

• Concept of the experimenter´s kit

• Pilot test in two kindergartens

• Methods

• Results

• Conclusion


Elementary computer science education at

University of Bamberg

Ute Schmid offers

workshops for children

2008 03/2015

formation of the

interdisciplinary

research group

„Elementary computer

science education“

design of a manual and first

material for a computer

science experimenter‘s kit

09/2015

GVS-award „Energie

für Bildung“

Start of the research project „Elementary computer science

education in preschool and primary school“

03-04/2016

pilot test in

preschools

10/2016

pilot test in

primary school


Interdisciplinary group • Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ute Schmid (Professorship of Applied Computer

Science/Cognitive Systems)

• Prof. Dr. Frithjof Grell (Professorship of Early Childhood Education)

• Dr. rer. pol. Anja Gärtig-Daugs (Dipl. Health Economist)

• Katharina Weitz (B.Sc. Psychology)

• Daniel Knauf (Dipl. Educational Science)

• Maike Wolking (B.A. Educational Science)

FELI = Forschungsgruppe Elementarinformatik

(research group of elementary computer science)

Pictures: FELI/ University of Bamberg


Project steps

• Design of a computer science experimenter’s kit

• Formative evaluation:

• Accompanying research:

Attitudes of (preschool) teachers and parents against

elementary computer science education

• Training for (preschool) teachers

Discussion of

concept and

material with

(preschool)

teachers

Pilot test in

preschools

and primary

schools

Adjustment of material and

manual


Theoretical Background

Rousseau Things as “teacher of the child”

Fröbel “Gifts” as representation of the world

Montessori “Development material” as key to the world

„Help me to do it by myself“

Maria Montessori

Pictures: Wikipedia.de

Grell (2013)


Picture (middle): Tim Kipphan/ University of Bamberg

Pictures: Colourbox.de


Theoretical Background

• Development and testing of material, which prepares

children for the growing technological environment

which is getting more and more complex

• The material enables children to autonomously create

realistic, child-oriented models of their world

• Children are seen as researchers, who construct their

own knowledge by testing ideas based on previous

experiments and knowledge


Topics of the experimenter’s kit

• Computer scientists

• Pixel

• Analog and digital

• Computer and its components

• Algorithms

• Search and sorting algorithms

Picture: FELI/ University of Bamberg


Concept of the experimenter´s kit

Material

• Illustrative material

• To introduce and explain a topic

• Experimenting material

• To explore computational concepts „unplugged“

• To reproduce illustrative example AND create/ testing

new ideas

Manual for (preschool) teachers


Concept - Topic „Pixel“

How does a computer represent pictures?“

1. Introduction of the topic

• Comparing hand-drawn and computer-drawn pictures

• Explaining the concept of pixel

• Conjunction to computer scientists




2. Introduction of the experimenting material

Pixel-pictures

Pixel-game




3. Free time to explore the experimenting material



Pilot test - Research questions

1. Can the implementation of computer

science education in elementary education

be promoted by an experimenter’s kit?

2. Can the topics be introduced by teachers

without computational background?

3. Is the material appropriate for preschool

children (aged 5 to 6 years)?


Pilot test - Design

Evaluation of materials and manual

• 25 children and 2 preschool

teachers participated

(2 kindergartens)

• 6 „computer science sessions“

à 60 minutes (2 weeks)

• Methods:

Assessment of material and manual

by preschool teachers

(5-point Likert scale; open response)

Participatory observation by three

members of the research team


Pilot test - Results 1. Promotion of CSE by an experimenter‘s kit

1:

does

not

ap

ply

at

all

;

5:

full

y a

pp

lies

Attitudes of educators:


Pilot test - Results 1. Promotion of CSE by an experimenter‘s kit

Intended future use by material:

illustrative and experimenting material was seperately evaluated by Kindergarten 2


Educator 1

• „ Analog and digital

representation“, „Algorithms“

harder to understand“.

• Unanswered questions:

• Selection sort algorithms

• Functionality of computer

components.

Educator 2

• All topics well comprehensible,

especially „Computer and its

components“.

• No unanswered questions.

Pilot test - Results 2. Appropriateness for teachers (no computational background)

Comprehensiveness of the topics in detail:

Correct explanation of computational concepts:

Computational concepts mainly correct explained.

Some misconception of sorting

algorithms.

-

Some concepts not named.


Pilot test - Results 3. Appropriateness for children

1:

does

not

ap

ply

at

all

;

5:

full

y a

pp

lies

Attitudes of educators:


Pilot test - Results 3. Appropriateness for children

Material meets cognitive abilities of children:

illustrative and experimenting material was seperately evaluated by Kindergarten 2


Conclusion

1. Promotion of CSE by an experimenter‘s kit?

Recommended adjustments:

• Multiple sets of experimenting material

• Algorithms: Experimenting material based on

ScratchJr will be added

2. Can the topics be introduced by teachers

without computational background?


• More detailed descriptions of computational

concepts

• Common misconceptions will be written down in

the manual

• Trainings


Conclusion

3. Is the material appropriate for preschool

children (aged 5 to 6 years)?


• Algorithms: Experimenting material based on

ScratchJr will be added

• Tablets with touch display will be provided

• Sorting algorithms: Experimenting instruction will

be simplified

• More time to explore concepts


References

• Grell, F. 2013. Frühkindliche Bildung in historischer Perspektive [Early childhood

education in a historical perspective], in: Stamm/ Edelmann (Hrsg.): Handbuch

frühkindliche Bildungsforschung, Wiesbaden, S. 147-165.

• Bell, T., Witten, I., and Fellows, M. 2015. Computer Science Unplugged. An

Enrichment and Extension Programme for Primary-Aged Students. Adapted

for classroom use by Adams R. and McKenzie., J. URL:

http://csunplugged.org/.


Pictures

Wikipedia Rousseau

• By Maurice Quentin de La Tour - Unknown, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24158

Fröbel

• Von Original uploader was Josjojo at nl.wikipedia - Transferred from nl.wikipedia,

Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6995857

Montessori

• By Unknown - Nationaal Archief, Public Domain,


Universität Bamberg/ Tim Kipphan

Universität Bamberg/ FELI

www.colourbox.de







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