Effect of Reverse Engineering Pedagogy on Primary School Students' Computational Thinking Skills in STEM Learning...

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• STEM Education
• Cognitive Development

Background:

• Computational thinking (CT) is a crucial 21st-century skill for students.
• Reverse Engineering Pedagogy (REP) shows potential in fostering CT by developing cooperativity, algorithmic thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.
• Effective pedagogical strategies are needed to integrate CT development within STEM learning activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of Reverse Engineering Pedagogy (REP) on the computational thinking (CT) skills of primary school students.
• To compare the effectiveness of REP against the demonstration method (DM) in a STEM learning context.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design involving 101 fifth-grade students over 16 weeks.
• Experimental group (n=51) received instruction using REP.
• Control group (n=50) received instruction using the demonstration method (DM).
• Computational Thinking Scale (CTS) administered as pretest and posttest.
• Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Reverse Engineering Pedagogy (REP) demonstrated a significant positive effect on improving students' computational thinking (CT) skills.
• Students in the experimental group (REP) showed greater gains in CT skills compared to the control group (DM).
• The findings suggest REP is a more effective pedagogical approach for CT development in STEM.

Conclusions:

• Reverse Engineering Pedagogy (REP) is an effective strategy for enhancing primary school students' computational thinking (CT) skills within STEM activities.
• Educators can leverage REP to foster essential 21st-century skills, including problem-solving and algorithmic thinking.
• The study provides valuable insights for curriculum developers and teachers seeking to improve CT education.