A comparison of pre-service teachers’ variable misconceptions in various computer-programming preferences: findings to teacher education course

Abstract

For over a decade, researchers have been concerned about variable misconceptions within teaching and learning computer programming. Few studies exist to explore this concern in-depth from a pre-service teacher’s perspective. Importantly, the identification of pre-service teachers’ misconceptions in computer programming may significantly impact teaching and learning since it provides remedies to minimize or prevent effects on students. This study examines variable misconceptions of computer science pre-service teachers in Thailand and the effects of different computer-programming preferences on variable misconceptions. This study used a quantitative research method to examine a Thai sample of 151 computer science pre-service teachers with different preferences of programming languages. In this study, the pre-service teachers were asked to evaluate the provided programming tasks relating to variables. The Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests were performed to compare the computer-programming preferences between the groups. The findings of this study slightly reveal that the computer programming pre-service teachers have misconceptions about variables. The pre-service teachers in Logo and Scratch groups have similarly observed misconceptions. The Python group, however, is better at interpreting the misconceptions about variables. A design of pre-service teacher education activities to tackle variable misconceptions in the K-12 computer programming curriculum will be suggested according to the findings of this study.