Plugged-in Scratch learning yields better mastery of computational concepts than unplugged learning in primary students¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Design limits · Sigayret 2022: groups were assigned but students were analysed as independent (read from the study by two models, 2026-10-30)

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Students learning with Scratch scored higher on the Mastery of computational concepts Test (d = 0.78), with significant advantages on instruction, loop, condition and variable but not algorithm items. → Sigayret 2022

Evidence¶

Sigayret 2022¶

Sigayret, K., Tricot, A., & Blanc, N. (2022). Unplugged or plugged-in programming learning: A comparative experimental study. Computers and Education, 184, 104505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104505

q3 · i2 · causal · r2

Quasi-experiment with 217 grade-5 students in classes randomly assigned to conditions; one-way ANOVA on the Mastery of computational concepts Test showed "significant in terms of total test performance (F 1, 202) = 31.86; p < .001; d = 0.78".

"The differences observed between the two groups were significant in terms of total test performance (F 1, 202) = 31.86; p < .001; d = 0.78). For items measuring the mastery of the concept of algorithm, the differences were not significant."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Class-level performance variation is much larger in the unplugged condition than in the plugged-in condition — related
• Plugged-in Scratch learning yields higher algorithmic problem-solving scores than unplugged learning, especially on complex exercises — related
• Computational concepts (sequences, loops, conditionals, parallel execution, events, robot programming) improved significantly versus control — related