Effect of design-based computational thinking educational model on executive function and self-regulation skills of preschool children

This study presents an output of the TÜBİTAK 1001 project titled "The Development of a Computational Thinking and Coding Education Model Based on the Design-Based Understanding Approach (TATBİK) for Early Childhood." The research examined the effects of the TATBİK Model, developed within the project's scope, on preschool children's executive function and self-regulation skills. The study focused on designing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of an instructional model grounded in computational thinking and coding, guided by the principles of design-based thinking. To this end, the Design-Based Research (DBR) approach was adopted as the central methodology, offering a cyclical and flexible structure that enables the integration of theoretical foundations with practical applications. According to the DBR framework, the model development process was carried out in four phases. In the first phase, the current situation was analyzed, and the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the model were established. In the second phase, in collaboration with researchers, teachers, parents, and children, 36 activities were developed—18 involving robotic applications and 18 unplugged (robot-free) activities. These activities were implemented and revised iteratively by the participating teachers. In the third phase, while the model was tested for its impact on engineering design, coding, and computational thinking within the broader scope of the project, this particular study focused on its effects on executive function and self-regulation skills. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form," the "EF Touch Executive Function Battery," and the "Preschool Self-Regulation Scale." The sample consisted of 76 children aged 5–6, attending a public preschool in Gaziantep, Türkiye, under the Ministry of National Education. The participants were assigned to 26 in Experimental Group 1, 25 in Experimental Group 2, and 25 in the Control Group. Experimental Group 1 received the robotic activities implemented by the researcher, while Experimental Group 2 received the unplugged activities implemented by the classroom teacher. The intervention lasted for six weeks, with sessions conducted three times per week for approximately 40–60 minutes per session. The data were analyzed using mixed-measures 3x3 ANOVA via SPSS 26. The results demonstrated that both experimental groups showed significantly greater improvements in the subdimensions of executive function and self-regulation compared to the control group. Moreover, the robotic activities in Experimental Group 1 resulted in higher levels of development across all subdimensions when compared to the unplugged activities in Experimental Group 2. These findings indicate that the TATBİK Model positively developed preschool children's executive function and self-regulation skills.