The effect of vertical and shared leadership practices and block coding learning on computer thinking, motivation and coding education in project-based learning method

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of vertical and shared leadership practices and block coding learning in project-based learning (PBL) method on students' computational thinking skill level, motivation and attitudes towards coding education. This research was conducted in two different learning environments. These environments are the learning environment in which groups formed with vertical leadership in PBL method and the learning environment in which groups created with shared leadership in PBL method exist. In this study, the effects of vertical leadership and shared leadership characteristics in PBL method in block coding education on computational thinking skill level, motivation and attitude towards coding education were evaluated. In order to make these evaluations, the motivation section of the motivation and learning strategies scale (MLSQ) adapted into Turkish by Karadeniz, Büyüköztürk, Akgün, Çakmak, & Demirel (2008); The computational thinking skill levels scale developed by Korkmaz, Çakır and Özden (2015) and the attitude scale towards coding education (ASTCE) developed by Karaman and Büyükalan Filiz (2019) were used. Semi-experimental design was used as the research model. In the study group of the research, 39 9th grade students studying at the Information Technologies Department of a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Bartın in the 2021-2022 academic year were included. Working Group 1 consists of teams formed with vertical leadership characteristics, and Working Group 2 consists of teams formed with shared leadership characteristics. The data of the study were obtained with the scale of computational thinking skill levels, the motivation-related part of the MSLQ and the ASTCE. The data obtained in the study were analyzed with ANCOVA. According to the results of the research, it has been observed that the ACTCE post-test scores of the students in the classroom (Study Group 2) who learn with the shared leadership approach in the PBL method do not change compared to the students in the classroom who learn with the vertical leadership approach in project-based learning (Study Group 1). It was observed that the computational thinking skill level post-test scores of the students in the classroom (Study Group 2) who learned with the shared leadership approach in the PBL method were higher and more significant than those in the classroom who learned the vertical leadership approach in the PBL method (Study Group 1). It was observed that the motivation post-test scores of the students in the classroom learning with the shared leadership approach in the PBL method (Study Group 2) did not change compared to the students in the classroom learning with the vertical leadership approach in the PBL method (Study Group 1). Keywords: Block coding, project-based learning, shared leadership, vertical leadership