Journal Archive

CT refers to the ability to simplify complex problems, such as the way computers solve problems, and to solve them logically and efficiently. CT was first used in 1980 by MIT professor Seymour Papert. In 2006, Jeannette Wing said that CT is a basic thinking ability that everyone living in the 21st century should have, just like reading, writing, and counting, and presented it as an essential element in children's education, playing a decisive role in disseminating CT. Scholars have slightly different opinions on the definition or elements of CT. The International Association for Educational Engineering (ISTE) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) define the operational definition of CT and the 9 elements are presented: data analysis, data representation, problem decomposition, abstraction, algorithms and procedures, automation, simulation, and parallelization[5].

According to the official blog of the Ministry of Education, software education is defined as education that develops CT to solve various problems creatively and efficiently based on the basic concepts and principles of computer science. The purpose of software education is to expand the perspective of ICT literacy and utilization education performed in the existing ICT education, and it is defined as the purpose of cultivating the ability of learners to solve problems based on CT skills necessary for living in the future society and software education in elementary and middle schools focuses on solving real-life problems through CT based on information ethics awareness and attitude rather than program development competency[1].

In Korea, 17 hours were allocated for practical subjects in elementary school, and 34 hours were allocated to middle school students in grades 1 to 3. Since the grade in which software education started is relatively late compared to other countries, and 34 hours are operated in any grade for three years of middle school, there may be a disconnection between grades and school level[6]. As a result, it is a situation that is significantly lacking compared to other countries, and it is identified as a situation in which solutions and countermeasures need to be prepared.

Physical computing refers to downloading data in the real world to a digital device, processing it in the form of software, and outputting the result to a monitor, LED, or other devices. Physical computing, which has the characteristics of exchanging information between the virtual world and the real world, becomes the basis of the IOT field that recognizes the surrounding environment and processes necessary information. It is expected that it will play an important role in the software industry in the future thanks to being able to go. The use of physical computing tools can achieve the achievement standards of the curriculum, maintain learners' interest, improve CT, and provide experience and competency as a future maker, is expected to increase the likelihood that it will be used as a tool for learners' active attitude change[7]. The various tool types used in physical computing education are classified and analyzed into robot type, modular type, board type, and sensor type as in table 1[8].

Studies related to teaching and learning design focusing on CT have been conducted in a variety of ways, and according to the SW education teaching and learning model development study[1], the model for enhancing CT has been suggested. The model was developed with a focus on functional areas among the learning target areas - knowledge, skills, and attitudes, in addition to functions, behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism were considered. Also, a new model was developed by focusing on a model frequently dealt with in various existing teaching methods such as problem-solving learning, and reconfiguration was made possible in consideration of the characteristics of the learner and the school environment.

The developed instructional model set the basic direction of including CT components (decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithm, programming) within step-by-step activities to achieve the goal of increasing CT, and proposed all five models that are a demonstration-oriented(DMM) model, a reconstruction-oriented(UMC) model, a development-oriented(DDD) model, a design-oriented(NDIS) model, and a CT element-oriented(DPAAP) model in that the components of CT should be the goal and basis of all learning as shown in table 2.

Recently, while emphasizing CT as a core competency of software education, research on methods for cultivating CT is increasing. Various aspects of research, such as problem solving methods and changes in personal characteristics, are active[9]. In addition, research on the effect of software education using various physical computing on CT is being emphasized. [10] described the results of learning the concepts and necessity of abstraction, problem decomposition, pattern recognition and algorithms for learners as a basic problem-solving course education method after providing software education using physical teaching tools for 6th graders of elementary school.

[11] conducted 20 hours of physical computing education using hamster robots for 6th graders of elementary school, and determined that a robot education program applying scientific principles had a positive effect on improving CT ability of elementary school students. [12] conducted software education using micro:bit for 6th graders of elementary school, and physical computing education can increase learners’ divergent thinking and critical and logical thinking, and can inspire learners’ learning motivation. In the process of identifying problems and creating their own programs, learners arouse interest in software classes and enable active learning.

[13] stated that physical computing is a necessary process because it connects reality and the computing environment, so that it can approach real-life problem solving, and claimed to be effective in improving learning immersion and SW awareness. [14] developed a data science education program using microbits, centering on elementary science textbooks, and applied it to 6th graders of gifted students to compare the growth of CT skills and verify the effectiveness. In the process of learning a series of data science processes and reinforcing the ability to solve problems based on data, data science education will have an effect on the improvement of elementary school students' CT, and have a significant effect on enhancing elementary school students' CT skills.

Looking at the previous studies, there have been many studies on software education using physical computing for elementary school students, but most of the research is focused on gifted learning or upper elementary school students (5th and 6th graders). However, as interest in software education has increased in society as a whole, there have been many arguments that education should start from the low graders of the elementary school, as in other countries. Therefore, it is necessary to study how physical computing education should be presented to young learners. In addition, software education using physical computing is economically burdensome because there are many expensive teaching tools such as robots, and it acts as a stumbling block for practical application in the educational field. In this regard, it seems that research on the appropriate selection of teaching tools that can bring out economical and effective educational effects is also needed.

To study the change in CT of students who participated in a software class using physical computing, the following research questions were set.

First, how will the software class using physical computing be designed in consideration of the elementary and lower grades?

Second, when a software class using physical computing is applied to elementary school students, how does the class appear?

Third, comparing elementary school students who experienced software classes using physical computing and students who took general software classes, does it have a significant effect on improving CT skills?

The subjects of this study were 3rd and 4th grade students who applied for after-school coding classes at elementary school A and elementary school B, and consisted of 15 students each in an experimental group and a comparison group. In both schools, the experimental group, A elementary school and the comparative group, B elementary school, coding classes were first opened after-school, and in the preliminary survey, they consisted of students who had no experience in software classes and were new to educational programming languages(Entry or Scratch).

Software training based on physical computing was conducted once a week during an after-school coding class, and the training lasted a total of 30 weeks. A simple preliminary questionnaire and a preliminary test were conducted in the first class. Coding education of both groups was proceeded focusing on the demonstration-centered model (DMM) and the reconstruction-centered model (UMC) among the models proposed in the SW education teaching and learning model development study. After the completion of the software training in the 27th session, in the 29th and 30th sessions, a beaver challenge problem for CT evaluation, a CT test of Codemos and a brief interview were conducted, respectively. The procedure of this study is as follows.

• ① Selection of research topics and research subjects
• ② Research-related theories and previous research studies
• ③ Development of physical computing-based software curriculum
• ④ Conducting a preliminary investigation
• ⑤ Application of physical computing-based software curriculum (27th session)
• ⑥ Post inspection (2 times) and brief interview
• ⑦ Statistical processing and data analysis
• ⑧ Summary of research results

In the 1st class, a preliminary test was conducted, and in the 2nd to 4th classes, the contents of the entry menu and basic blocks were taught in the same way as the experimental group and the comparison group. From the 5th to the 28th classes, the learning topic and basic concepts are taught with the same content, The experimental group used physical computing to modify and extend the program and the comparison group conducted a class to modify and expand the program using only the EPL (Entry).

In this study, a block-type EPL, Entry was selected as a tool to analyze the effectiveness of EPL education and software education using physical computing. In addition, Funboard and Microbit, which are physical computing tools that support hardware blocks in the entry, were selected.

Entry is structured based on a block-type programming language, so elementary school students can use it easily and fun. It provides an environment suitable for understanding the basic principles of software, such as interworking with such as Python and JavaScript, and providing various class materials and management functions. One of the characteristics of Entry is the support of various hardware. It easily connects more than 100 different hardware, and the available blocks are provided differently depending on the type of hardware.

Funboard is a physical computing education board made with a single microcontroller that combines several sensors. Considering the suitability of the curriculum, the appropriateness of the learning and development stage, performance and convenience, and safety, which are the evaluation criteria for the selection of physical computing tools as argued by [16], Funboard can be operated without separate circuit or electrical knowledge. It can be said that it is safe because it has a housing that protects the board. In addition, since it is a sensor integrated type, it is convenient to use because it does not use a breadboard or jumper wire, and various sensors are included in Funboard, so students can easily check the results of programming and it was judged to be suitable for elementary school level.

Micro:bit board is 4×5cm in size and consists of an ARM-based processor, 25 LEDs, 2 buttons, pins for connecting external devices, light, temperature, acceleration, compass sensors, wireless, Bluetooth, and micro USB and can be used independently by connecting the battery to USB. After writing the program, they can easily transfer the code to the hardware by simply connecting Micro:bit to PC as a USB connection device and downloading the written code. Compared to existing physical tools, Micro:bit is cheap, easy to use, highly scalable, and a physical computing teaching tool equipped with various and powerful functions[12].

The teaching and learning process consisted of 27 sessions centered on DMM model and UMC model. At the beginning of the class, it is mainly the basic stage of programming and the function of the command block is not well understood, so the teacher explains the function and demonstrates the function, and then the students follow along and ask questions. After that, the students organize the class with a DMM model that allows free project activities according to the teacher's explanation, and uses the UMC model according to the topic and content to motivate the students to explore the learning modules learned through play, and through the modification process of the module prepared in advance, the students were able to understand the functions and concepts. Finally, by expanding the play and modification activities, it is possible to design and produce their own programs. Table 3 shows the concept of learning content for each class.