Investigating the effects of computer science un-plugged, block-based and robotic coding education on computational thinking and coding skills of primary school students

This study aims to examine the effects of coding education on students' computational thinking skills and coding skills in computer science un-plugged (CSU), block-based coding (BBC), and robotic coding (RC) environments. The research results aim to contribute to the literature on which programming environment should be used in developing primary school students' computational thinking skills and coding skills with data-based evidence. In this study, BBC, RC, and CSU training was given to 45 3rd-grade students between the ages of 9 and 10 for eight weeks. A mixed method was used to collect the data for the study. Quantitative data were collected using the computational thinking test (CTT) and coding skills test (CST), and qualitative data were collected through interviews about the learning process developed by the researcher. According to the results of the study, it was observed that the post-test means scores of the CSU, BTK, and RC groups were higher than the pre-test mean scores of the CTT. When the post-test CTT mean scores of the students were compared, it was seen that the BBC group improved more than the RC and CSU groups. In addition, there was a significant difference between post-test mean scores of CST in all three groups. When the post-test CST mean scores of the students were compared, it was seen that, again, the BBC group improved more than the RC and CSU groups. When the interview data were analyzed, it was seen that the students expressed the coding education process as useful, educational, and fun. KEYWORDS: Computational thinking skills, coding skills, computer science un-plugged, robotic coding, block-based coding