The Effect of Programming with Scratch Course on Reflective Thinking Skills of Students Towards Problem Solving

Abstract

With the development of information and communication technologies, access to information is becoming easier every day. Consequently, individuals' abilities to interpret information that especially exists in the learning processes, to produce new knowledge and to use the information produced have gained more importance day by day. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of digital story design made by students working on project in groups using Scratch program on their reflective thinking skills towards problem solving. The sample of the study consisted of 82 students who attended Basic Computer Sciences (Social) course and studied in the verbal departments such as History, Archaeology and Philosophy of Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Kocaeli University in the 2018-2019 academic year. In this study, single-group pretest-posttest experimental design was used and data were collected by “Reflective Thinking Skill Towards Problem Solving Scale”. According to the findings, it was determined that teaching of Scratch programming has a positive effect on reflective thinking skills of the students studying in the departments of Archelogy, Philosophy and History and is mostly effective in sub-dimension of questioning. In future studies, students' reflective thinking skills towards problem solving can be measured through project-based, observational applications and achievement tests.

Keywords

• Scratch program
• Reflective thinking skills towards
• problem solving
• Basic Computer Sciences course

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