The document discusses a Scratch programming course taught to early childhood education students at the University of Patras in Greece. The 10-lesson course introduces students to key Scratch concepts through hands-on lessons and assignments. While students successfully completed educational scenarios and peer reviews, challenges included designing effective team interactions and taking on overly complex projects before mastering basics. The instructors plan to adjust the concept order and pacing next year based on lessons learned.

1. Using Scratch with Education Sciences
Students
Nikolos Dimitris
Komis Vassilis
Department of Educational Science and
Early Childhood Education,
University of Patras,
Greece

2. The course
• Department of Educational Science and
Early Childhood Education (prospective
early childhood teachers)

3. The course
• Scratch is the laboratory part of:
– “Didactics of Informatics” elective course
– One semester
– Third year of study
• Around twenty students enroll in the
course
– Mostly female
– Without programming experience

4. The course
• Ten two-hours lessons
– One programming concept per lesson (hands
on)
– Students submit a small project after every
lesson
– Students submit a large final project (they
select the subject)

5. What worked?
• Educational Scenario
• Having students document requirements
• Peer review of code

6. Issues
• Design of useful interactions between
team members
• They program complex solutions to simple
problems (they need to learn the basics
early e.g. broadcasts)
• Need support for their large projects.
Afraid of making minor changes near the
end.

7. Only for undergraduate
students?
We have observed that our successes and
shortcomings are present when we teach
younger students (e.g. high school and
junior high school students)

8. Next year design: Order of
concepts
• Getting started
• Repeated runs
• Conditionals
• Broadcasts
• Variables
• Procedures
• Repeat / wait until & lists
• Clones

9. Thank you!
Suggestions?

10. Thank you!
Suggestions?