2016 Volume 40 Issue 3 Pages 175-185
A computer programming class was implemented for the upper elementary grades in which each student uses a tablet device. The class was jointly taught by elementary school class teachers and junior high school manual training course teachers. The latter were assigned to concurrently teach in elementary schools while developing teaching units featuring exercise-based and companion-formatting-based stepwise tasks. An analysis of lesson observations and teacher interviews revealed that the portability of tablet devices and the presence of junior high school manual training course teachers benefitted the computer programming teaching. Furthermore, analysis of an attitude survey of the students found that the exercise-based and companion-formatting-based stepwise tasks improved their willingness to perform the computer programming activities and to employ their practical skills to use data.
