Improving programming skills in engineering education through problem-based game projects with Scratch

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Date

2018

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Publisher

Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd

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Information Systems Engineering
Information Systems is an academic and professional discipline which follows data collection, utilization, storage, distribution, processing and management processes and modern technologies used in this field. Our department implements a pioneering and innovative education program that aims to raise the manpower, able to meet the changing and developing needs and expectations of our country and the world. Our courses on current information technologies especially stand out.
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Software Engineering
(2005)
Department of Software Engineering was founded in 2005 as the first department in Ankara in Software Engineering. The recent developments in current technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Blockchains, have placed Software Engineering among the top professions of today, and the future. The academic and research activities in the department are pursued with qualified faculty at Undergraduate, Graduate and Doctorate Degree levels. Our University is one of the two universities offering a Doctorate-level program in this field. In addition to focusing on the basic phases of software (analysis, design, development, testing) and relevant methodologies in detail, our department offers education in various areas of expertise, such as Object-oriented Analysis and Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Software Quality Assurance, Software Requirement Engineering, Software Design and Architecture, Software Project Management, Software Testing and Model-Driven Software Development. The curriculum of our Department is catered to graduate individuals who are prepared to take part in any phase of software development of large-scale software in line with the requirements of the software sector. Department of Software Engineering is accredited by MÜDEK (Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs) until September 30th, 2021, and has been granted the EUR-ACE label that is valid in Europe. This label provides our graduates with a vital head-start to be admitted to graduate-level programs, and into working environments in European Union countries. The Big Data and Cloud Computing Laboratory, as well as MobiLab where mobile applications are developed, SimLAB, the simulation laboratory for Medical Computing, and software education laboratories of the department are equipped with various software tools and hardware to enable our students to use state-of-the-art software technologies. Our graduates are employed in software and R&D companies (Technoparks), national/international institutions developing or utilizing software technologies (such as banks, healthcare institutions, the Information Technologies departments of private and public institutions, telecommunication companies, TÜİK, SPK, BDDK, EPDK, RK, or universities), and research institutions such TÜBİTAK.

Journal Issue

Abstract

Nowadays, programming skills are receiving widespread attention for different age groups alongside occupational education programs to better prepare individuals for their future careers. However, introducing programming concepts in an appropriate manner is a challenge in higher education. The main assumption of this study is that enhancing the classical introduction to programming courses through real-life problem-based game development with Scratch programming environment potentially improves the learners' programming skills and motivation. Accordingly, in this study, during one academic semester period, the Introduction to Programming course for engineering students is enriched up to a certain level through real-life game development projects with Scratch. The students are followed within a four-year period starting from freshman until their graduation. The progress of the students who have taken the Introduction to Programming course in enriched or classical form in the fourth year Senior-project course are evaluated. The results show that by slightly improving the course curriculum through real-life game development projects in the Scratch environment, students' performance on the graduation projects improved significantly. As a conclusion, game-based learning, problem-based learning, visual programming and projects are technologies that can potentially help learners to perform better in the introduction to programming course, in turn affecting their performances in projects.

Description

Cagiltay, Nergiz/0000-0003-0875-9276

Keywords

Programming and programming languages, Improving classroom teaching, Teaching/learning strategies, Computer games, Scratch

Turkish CoHE Thesis Center URL

Citation

128

WoS Q

Q1

Scopus Q

Source

Volume

120

Issue

Start Page

64

End Page

74

URI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.01.011
 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14411/2724

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Scopus