Summarizing findings about block-based programming in computing education

As readers of my blog know, I’m interested in alternative modalities and representations for programming. I’m an avid follower of David Weintrop’s work, especially the work comparing blocks and text for programming (e.g., as discussed in this blog post).

David wrote a piece for CACM summarizing some of his studies on block-based programming in computing education. It has just been published in the August issue.  Here’s the link to the piece — I recommend it.

To understand how learners make sense of the block-based modality and understand the scaffolds that novice programmers find useful, I conducted a series of studies in high-school computer science classrooms. As part of this work, I observed novices writing programs in block-based tools and interviewed them about the experience. Through these interviews and a series of surveys, a picture emerged of what the learners themselves identified as being useful about the block-based approach to programming. Students cited features discussed here such as the shape and visual layout of blocks, the ability to browse available commands, and the ease of the drag-and-drop composition interaction. They also cited the language of the blocks themselves, with one student saying “Java is not in English it’s in Java language, and the blocks are in English, it’s easier to understand.” I also surveyed students after working in both block-based and text-based programming environment and they overwhelmingly reported block-based tools as being easier. These findings show that students themselves see block-based tools as useful and shed light as to why this is the case.