The effect of coding training for secondary school students on stem and computational thinking skills

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of coding trainings organized for 5th and 6th grade middle school students on their STEM and Computational Thinking Skills. The sample of the study consists of 5th and 6th grade middle school students taking Information Technologies and Software courses in middle schools in Altıeylül district of Balıkesir province in the 2023-2024 academic year. Relational survey model was used in the study. The convenience sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods, was used. 522 students participated in the study and 42 of them were students who also received robotic coding trainings during the education process. All students participating in the study take Information Technologies and Software Course according to the curriculum. "Self-Efficacy Perception Scale for Block-Based Programming", 'Computer Thinking Skill Levels Scale' and 'STEM Skill Levels Perception Scale' were used in the study. Reliability analyses of the scales were conducted. The quantitative data collected in the study were analysed by calculating total scores in the SPSS program. Of the participants, 50.6% were male students and 49.4% were female students. When the participants were analysed by age, 4.2% were 10 years old, 29.8% were 11 years old, 57.4% were 12 years old, and 8.6% were 13 years old. While 26.1% of the participants were in the 5th grade, 73.9% were in the 6th grade. While 8% of the participants had received coding training before, 92% had not received any coding training. It is seen that 54.8% of the participants did not write games with Scratch software, 45.2% did, 50.2% did not take a Scratch course, and 49.8% took a Scratch course. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed between the total scores of the scales, which are the dependent variables, and the independent variables (gender, age, grade, coding education, writing Scratch games, taking Scratch course, currently writing Scratch games, currently taking Scratch course). When the regression analysis results are analysed, it is seen that gender, coding education, writing games with Scratch software, and currently writing games with Scratch software are significant explanators of the variance in the total scores of the STEM Skill Level Scale. The results showed that there was a positive and highly significant (p<.01) relationship between "STEM Skill Levels Perception Scale" and "Self-Efficacy Perception Scale Regarding Scratch Program" and "Computer Thinking Skill Levels Scale".