Blocks-based programming environments are productive environments for novice programmers because they offer opportunities to minimize syntax errors and help novices quickly feel a sense of accomplishment. This early sense of accomplishment, however, can lead to a learner’s conflation of their own achievement with complete mastery of the programming environment, even when that is not the likely case. Introductory programming initiatives where novices engage with Scratch for only a couple weeks before trying something else also contribute to this issue, and in our own experiences we’ve heard students say things like, “I did Scratch,” or “I’m done with Scratch,” even though their computational fluency may be somewhat limited. This misconception of “done-ness” is often challenged when learners transition to other programming languages. How do we as learning designers create opportunities for novice engagement with some of the more complex computational concepts which are available but underutilized in Scratch? In this talk, we will engage with questions about how to design activities which encourage learners to explore computational concepts they might be unfamiliar with (such as variables, lists, and string manipulation), through the context of Getting Unstuck, a summer 2018 21-day creative programming challenge for K-12 educators.

Sun 4 Nov

Displayed time zone: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey change

09:00 - 10:00
Limits People Reach & How to Get Past ThemBLOCKS+ at Beacon Hill
09:00
5m
Talk
Coding while Making: using Blocks Language in a Physical Computing Setting
BLOCKS+
Karen H. Jin University of New Hampshire
Pre-print
09:05
5m
Talk
Abstractionless Programming in App Inventor
BLOCKS+
Audrey Seo Wellesley College
Pre-print
09:10
5m
Talk
Beyond "I'm done": Encouraging deeper exploration of challenging computational concepts
BLOCKS+
Paulina Haduong Harvard Graduate School of Education, Karen Brennan Harvard Graduate School of Education
Pre-print
09:15
5m
Talk
The Example Guru: Suggesting Examples to Novice Blocks Programmers in an Artifact-Based Context Increases Use of New Blocks
BLOCKS+
Michelle Brachman University of Massachusetts Lowell, Caitlin Kelleher Washington University in St. Louis
Pre-print
09:20
5m
Talk
Research Tools for MIT App Inventor
BLOCKS+
Evan W Patton Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mark Sherman CERT, Michael Tissenbaum University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Pre-print
09:25
15m
Other
Themed Session 1: Whole Group Discussion
BLOCKS+

09:40
20m
Other
Themed Session 1: Break-out discussions
BLOCKS+