Pre-service teacher development of technological pedagogical content knowledge in teaching computer programming : design and practices of mobile-assisted games for secondary education

Abstract

The concept of variables and loops is the fundamental concept for students in learning computer programming. There is less empirical research on pre-service teachers using mobile-assisted game-based learning (MAGBL) with computer programming learning. Therefore, this study aimed to address this shortcoming by providing empirical evidence for evaluating the computer programming knowledge of K-12 students leading to the design of a pre-service teacher course. This mixed-method study consisted of three phases; 1) Preliminary phase, a survey was conducted to investigate variable and loop misconceptions of 151 pre-service teachers and find the suitable programming-assisted tool. The data was collected by using misconceptions tests in three groups of different programming-assisted tools consisting of Logo (n = 22), Scratch (n = 73), and Python (n = 56). Data analysis was operated with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. 2) Phase I, an experimental research method was employed used to identify the effectiveness of the card and board games with MAGBL in reducing variable and loop misconceptions of 107 secondary students. Misconception tests (MTs) and reflective essays (RE) were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed with frequency, one-way-repeated measures, pairwise comparisons, and thematic analysis. 3) Phase II, mixed methods research was used to examine teacher development course on computer programming with 36 pre-service teachers. This course consisted of 6 hours a day and lasted three days. The data was collected by using MTs, self-reported surveys on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), RE, and interview forms. Data analysis was performed with one-way-repeated measures, pairwise comparisons, and thematic analysis. The results of the three phases showed that Python and Scratch can better interpreted the misconceptions about variables and loops respectively. Moreover, the used of games with MAGBL revealed a significantly reduction in students’ misconceptions, understood the major misconception of each concept, and informed complications in both games. Furthermore, implementing games with MAGBL with activities in Phase II indicated that the pre-service teachers significantly understand both concepts and improved their four knowledge-related dimensions of TPCK after participating in the pre-service teacher course.