Start learning coding without computers? A case study on children's unplugged gamified coding education tool with...

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Computational thinking is crucial for children's development.
• Gamification significantly enhances educational engagement.
• Unplugged coding tools offer accessible learning without devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of gamification elements on children's flow experience and learning engagement in unplugged coding education.
• To test the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory in this context.
• To provide practical insights for designing effective coding education tools.

Main Methods:

• An experimental study using an unplugged coding education prototype, "Coding Adventure."
• An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach with 295 elementary students (aged 8-10).
• Qualitative interviews with 12 stratified participants.

Main Results:

• Role-playing and cooperation significantly enhance children's flow experience.
• Flow experience positively impacts learning engagement through immersion and goal-orientation.
• Rewards and cooperation directly increase learning engagement and motivation.

Conclusions:

• Gamification elements, particularly role-playing and cooperation, are effective in fostering flow and engagement in children's coding education.
• The S-O-R framework provides a useful lens for understanding these effects.
• Designers can leverage these findings to create more immersive and achievement-oriented coding tools.