Investigation of secondary school students' computer thinking skills and self-efficiency perceptions regarding coding in block-based robotic and coding education designed by gaming method

The study aims to investigate whether a relationship exists between the gamification method and students' proficiency in computer thinking and self-efficacy beliefs pertaining to coding. Furthermore, exploring the role of gender as a variable among the participating students is another objective. The study utilised a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test control group, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study's sample comprises 48 sixth-grade students studying at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Secondary School in the Muradiye district of Van province. Conducted by the ICT teacher in the Muradiye Robotics and Coding Workshop, the study employed two separate groups and selected participants via convenience sampling. Participants were selected from students who volunteered for the study and were enrolled in the BTRK course offered by Public Education. The research was implemented experimentally for six weeks during the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year within the framework of the BTRK course. It was enriched with plans, activities, badges, titles, and awards. The research study compared the effectiveness of using Arduino-based programmable training robots in the education process to teach coding skills. The process was followed simultaneously in all study group classes. The robots were programmed using the MBlok5 software. The experimental group received gamification-based instruction, while the control group received traditional instruction. The study group's demographic data was obtained through a personal information form, and data collection tools employed were the Computer Thinking Scale developed by Korkmaz, Çakır, Özden (2016), and the "Self-Efficacy Perception Scale for Block-Based Programming" developed by Altun and Kasalak (2018). Abbreviations were fully explained upon first use. The data analysis employed dependent and independent sample t-tests, two-way variance analysis, and correlation tests using the SPSS 26 package. Prior to the experimental procedure, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the mean scores of self-efficacy perceptions on coding and computer thinking skills within the experimental and control groups. It was hypothesised that the pre-instructional computer thinking aptitudes and self-efficacy of the participating students in the experimental and control groups would be comparable. The findings indicate a significant increase in the posttest scores among the experimental group students compared to the scores attained by their counterparts in the control group (p<0.05). The study revealed that implementing gamification led to a noticeable improvement in students' computer thinking skills and self-efficacy perceptions towards coding. Additionally, it was determined that neither the students' gender nor their group assignment had a significant impact on their self-efficacy and computer thinking skills (p>0.05).