Informatics in Education logo


Login Register

  1. Home
  2. Issues
  3. Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023)
  4. Understanding loops: What are the miscon ...

Informatics in Education

INFORMATION Submit your article Help
  • Article info
  • Related articles
  • More
    Article info Related articles

Understanding loops: What are the misconceptions of lower-secondary pupils?
Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023), pp. 525–554
Jiří Vaníček   Václav Dobiáš   Václav Šimandl  

Authors

 
Placeholder
https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2023.20
Pub. online: 11 September 2023      Type: Article     

Published
11 September 2023

Abstract

The article describes a study carried out on pupils aged 12-13 with no prior programming experience. The study examined how they learn to use loops with a fixed number of repetitions. Pupils were given a set of programming tasks to solve, without any preparatory or accompanying instruction or explanation, in a block-based visual programming environment. Pupils’ programs were analyzed to identify possible misconceptions and factors influencing them. Four misconceptions involving comprehension of the loop concept and repeat command were detected. Some of these misconceptions were found to have an impact on a pupil’s need to ask the computer to check the correctness of his/her program. Some of the changes made to tasks had an impact on the frequency of these misconceptions and could be the factors influencing them. Teachers and course book writers will be able to use the results of our research to create an appropriate curriculum. This will enable pupils to acquire and subsequently deal with misconceptions that could prevent the correct understanding of created concepts.

Related articles PDF XML
Related articles PDF XML

Copyright
No copyright data available.
Open access article under the CC BY license.

Keywords
Misconception Learning Programming Secondary school Loop Repeat Bebras Challenge Blockly

Metrics
since February 2020
937

Article info
views

0

Full article
views

643

PDF
downloads

145

XML
downloads

Export citation

Copy and paste formatted citation
Placeholder

Download citation in file


Share


RSS

INFORMATICS IN EDUCATION

  • Online ISSN: 2335-8971
  • Print ISSN: 1648-5831
  • Copyright © 2024 Vilnius University
  •  

For contributors

  • Submit
  • OA Policy

Contact us

  • Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies,
  • Vilnius University, Akademijos St. 4, 08412, Vilnius, Lithuania
  • E-mail: gabriele.stupuriene@mif.vu.lt
Powered by PubliMill  •  Privacy policy