Video Games: A Potential Vehicle for Teaching Computational Thinking

Abstract

Previous studies in computer science education show that game playing is negatively correlated with success in introductory programming classes in (Wilson, Shrock ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, vol 33, pp 184-188, 2001). However, informally, we observed that students who have previous gaming experience take to programming tasks easier than those without gaming experience. There have also been recent studies that show that playing strategic video games can improve problem-solving skills which is an essential skill in program design. This chapter presents the findings of our study to identify if a correlation between previous gaming experience (game playing) and individual computational thinking (CT) skills exists. To achieve this, a survey was administered on undergraduate students undertaking an introductory computing course to collect data on their gaming history and an individual assignment on Scratch. Each project was subsequently analysed to determine the level of mastery of core CT skills. Cochran-Armitage test of trend was then executed on each CT skill category with respect to the coded gaming experience. The results obtained during our analysis shows a correlation between gaming experience and specific categories of the CT skills domain particularly in the area of abstraction and problem-solving and user interactivity. The outcome of our study should be beneficial as ways to leverage on students' gaming experience in the classroom will also be discussed.