Open AccessA Detailed Item Response Theory Analysis of Algorithms and Programming Concepts in App Inventor Projects
Author(s) -
Nathalia da Cruz Alves,
Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim,
Jean Carlo Rossa Hauck,
Adriano Ferreti Borgatto
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista brasileira de informática na educação
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2317-6121
pISSN - 1414-5685
DOI - 10.5753/rbie.2021.2097
Subject(s) - rubric , computer science , curriculum , process (computing) , scale (ratio) , algorithm , mathematics education , programming language , psychology , pedagogy , physics , quantum mechanics
Teaching computing in K-12 is often introduced focusing on algorithms and programming concepts using block-based programming environments, such as App Inventor. Yet, learning programming is a complex process and novices struggle with several difficulties. Thus, to be effective, instructional units need to be designed regarding not only the content but also its sequencing taking into consideration difficulties related to the concepts and the idiosyncrasies of programming environments. Such systematic sequencing can be based on large-scale project analyses by regarding the volition, incentive, and opportunity of students to apply the relevant program constructs as latent psychometric constructs using Item Response Theory to obtain quantitative ‘difficulty’ estimates for each concept. Therefore, this article presents the results of a large-scale data-driven analysis of the demonstrated use in practice of algorithms and programming concepts in App Inventor. Based on a dataset of more than 88,000 App Inventor projects assessed automatically with the CodeMaster rubric, we perform an analysis using Item Response Theory. The results demonstrate that the easiness of some concepts can be explained by their inherent characteristics, but also due to the characteristics of App Inventor as a programming environment. These results can help teachers, instructional and curriculum designers in the sequencing, scaffolding, and assessment design of programming education in K-12.