Misconceptions about variables at the K-12 level

• Published in: Education and information technologies Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 1251 - 1268
• Main Authors: Žanko, Žana, Mladenović, Monika, Boljat, Ivica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 16.03.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algorithms; Basic Skills; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computer Science Education; Computers and Education; Education; Educational Technology; Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Elementary Schools; Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 5; Grade 6; Influence of Technology; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Information Technology; Instructional Improvement; Junior high school students; Learning; Learning Processes; Mathematical Formulas; Misconceptions; Novices; Prior Learning; Programming; Programming Languages; Researchers; Student Writing Models; Syntax; Teacher Effectiveness; Teaching; Undergraduate Students; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Writing Instruction; Variables; Programming; Text-based programming languages; K-12; Misconceptions
• ISSN: 1360-2357; 1573-7608
• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-018-9824-1

There are known misconceptions about variables which are mostly the same since the first studies since more than 30 years ago. Consciousness about the misconceptions in programming can be crucial for teaching and learning programming for novices because, if we are aware of them, maybe we can minimise or even prevent them. Researchers mostly conducted researches on an undergraduate or graduate level. There is a lack of studies about variable misconceptions at the K-12 level. Do K-12 students have the same misconceptions as undergraduates? Does the use of different programming languages affect misconceptions? We conducted the pilot study in the school setting among 127 elementary 5th and 6th-grade students. Students were learning to programme in text-based programming languages Logo, and Python with graphical (Logo) and procedural (Python) approaches. In this paper, we present the results of the research in which we aim to give answers to the questions posed above.