Need Finding for an Embodied Coding Platform: Educators’ Practices and Perspectives

Authors

Tommy Sharkey, University of California San Diego
Robert Twomey, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Amy Eguchi, University of California San Diego
Monica Sweet, University of California San Diego
Ying Chun Wu, University of California San Diego

ORCID IDs

Tommy Sharkey https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9705-6788

Robert Twomey https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9663-0706

Amy Eguchi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1240-9228

Ying Choon Wu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9382-8805

Date of this Version

2022

Citation

Sharkey, T., Twomey, R., Eguchi, A., Sweet, M. and Wu, Y. Need Finding for an Embodied Coding Platform: Educators’ Practices and Perspectives. DOI: 10.5220/0011000200003182 In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2022) - Volume 1, pages 216-227

Comments

Copyright c 2022 by SCITEPRESS

Abstract

Eight middle- and high-school Computer Science (CS) teachers in San Diego County were interviewed about the major challenges their students commonly encounter in learning computer programming. We identified strategic design opportunities -- that is, challenges and needs that can be addressed in innovative ways through the affordances of Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). Thematic Analysis of the interviews yielded six thematic clusters: Tools for Learning, Visualization and Representation, Pedagogical Approaches, Classroom Culture, Motivation, and Community Connections. Within the theme of visualization, focal clusters centered on visualizing problem spaces and using metaphors to explain computational concepts, indicating that an AR/VR coding system could help users to represent computational problems by allowing them to build from existing embodied experiences and knowledge. Additionally, codes clustered within the theme of learning tools reflected educators’ preference for web-based IDEs, which involve minimal start-up costs, as well as concern over the degree of transfer in learning between block- and text-based interfaces. Finally, themes related to motivation, community, and pedagogical practices indicated that the design of an AR coding platform should support collaboration, self-expression, and autonomy in learning. It should also foster selfefficacy and learners’ ability to address lived experience and real-world problems through computational means.