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Keeping Mindful of Modality: A Comparison of Computer Science Education Resources for Learning

Abstract:

Educators often use computer science education resources to enhance the learning process, which come with a variety of output modalities (e.g., audiovisual, tangible) and coding modalities (e.g., block-based, text-based). While these resources are typically evaluated for their applicability and impact on young populations, they are not often analyzed through a comparison of their coding and output modalities, nor as a whole to each other. In this paper, we conducted BridgeUP STEM, an afterschool CS course for high school women and gender non-conforming individuals aimed at developing their computational thinking skills and exposing them to coding and CS. We collected and analyzed interview data for 16 participants on their experiences within the course and attitudes towards various output and coding modalities. Throughout the study, the students’ reflections on their own learning revealed the affordances and drawbacks of each resource in terms of outputs the resources provided, feedback the students received, and how both affected the students’ troubleshooting. We present these findings and use them to provide recommendations for approaches to teaching computer science.