Search

Background Study: As interest in programming education continues to grow, more educators are incorporating programming into K‐12 classrooms. There is evidence that programming can help develop essential skills for future societal advancement, known as 21st century skills. However, there has been limited research into which sub‐skills of 21st century skills are fostered through programming and the effect sizes thereof. Objective: This study presented a meta‐analysis to comprehensively understand the influence of programming instruction in K‐12 classrooms on the development of students' 21st century skills in different dimensions of sub‐skills. And further analysed the impact of key elements of programming instruction design on its effectiveness. Methods: A comprehensive meta‐analysis was conducted, covering 74 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2023, involving 136 effect sizes, and moderation analyzes on variables of instructional design. Results: This study indicated that implementing programming instruction in K‐12 schools can help develop students' multiple dimensions of 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, problem‐solving and decision, learning to learn, ICT literacy, and personal and social responsibility. Overall, programming demonstrates a moderate but significant effect on improving 21st century skills (Hedges's g = 0.621, p = 0.000 < 0.01). Furthermore, several best practices were identified to enhance students' 21st century skills, including initiating programming education from kindergarten, limiting the duration of programming interventions to 6 months, adopting interdisciplinary approaches to programming education, utilizing visual programming tools, and selecting appropriate assessment methods. Conclusion: Based on these findings, this study recommended the thoughtful design of programming education to maximize its advantages in various dimensions of 21st century skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Currently, 21st century skills have become critical skills that students should have.A popular practice in K‐12 schools is to use programming to develop students' 21st century skills, but results are inconsistent and quantitative synthesis of empirical research is lacking.Some factors of programming instruction may influence the effectiveness of programming on students' 21st century competencies. What this paper adds: A meta‐analysis of 74 studies was conducted to provide systematic evidence that programming has a moderate effect on improving K‐12 students' 21st century skills.Programming significantly improves students' eight sub‐skills in the 21st century.Educational level moderated the impact of programming on students' 21st century skills.Instructional duration moderated the impact of programming on students' 21st century skills. The implications of study findings for practitioners: Programming instruction is designed to be well‐planned and to take full advantage of technology to develop students' 21st century skills.Starting programming instruction at a younger age is more beneficial for students' 21st century skill development.Regarding intervention duration, it is noteworthy that interventions lasting within six months are more effective.Integrate programming across disciplines to promote students' multi‐dimensional 21st century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the perceptions and experiences of a teacher and students in a Shanghai public primary school when digital games were used in a second‐grade math class. The participants included one teacher and 45 students. Data collection methods included classroom observation, focus‐group and individual interviews, and document analysis. Digital gameplay, when used once daily over a 6‐day period, was found to enhance student engagement and interest in learning; many students, however, were concerned about its effect on academic achievement and eyesight. The teacher employed a "making thinking visible" approach using pencil and paper and problem‐solving strategies to help students understand the game's mathematical principles and master mathematical knowledge. Obstacles included large class size, difficulty evaluating learning outcomes, balancing fun and learning, and effective game–classroom integration. This study found that exam‐oriented education and traditional teacher‐centred teaching in China influenced participants' perceptions and experiences of digital game‐based learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Digital game‐based learning is effective and leads to a more relaxed learning environment that promotes students' engagement, interest, motivation, and confidence.Learning with digital games helps students acquire mathematics knowledge more effectively than traditional classroom lectures.Digital game‐based learning is helpful in math class as it makes students feel challenged and more capable, thereby improving self‐efficacy and task persistence. What this paper adds: Mathematics teachers and students have a contradictory attitude that shows both approval and concern towards game‐based learning.In the Chinese context, exam‐oriented culture is an important factor that influences the teacher's and students' perceptions and experiences of digital game‐based learning.While digital game‐based learning helps students' engagement and interest in math, it also faces numerous challenges such as large class size, balancing fun and learning, and effective game–classroom integration. Implications for practice and/or policy: Digital game‐based learning may be more effective when combined with pencil and paper to write down the process and make thinking visible.Fun and learning should be balanced in digital game‐based learning.Teachers need training and support for digital game‐centred programmes to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learners in the process of developing complex skills need a rich mental model of what such skills entail. Textual analytics rubrics (TR) are a widely used instrument to support formative assessment of complex skills, supporting feedback, reflection, and thus mental model development of complex skills. However, the textual nature of a rubric limits the possibility to deliver contextual and dynamic (time‐and behaviour‐oriented) information. In the Viewbrics online tool, we developed a version supporting the delivery of contextual and dynamic information by adding video‐modelling examples with embedded self‐explanation prompts to textual analytics rubrics. We called this combination as video‐enhanced rubrics (VERs). Our current study investigates whether the Viewbrics online tool supports complex skills development and whether either textual‐ or video‐enhanced rubrics best support complex skills' mastery. The study was a three‐group (VERS n = 49, TR n = 54, control n = 50) within‐subjects design. Learners' performance of complex skills was measured through expert, peer, and self‐assessment using the Viewbrics online tool. A multilevel regression analysis shows learners in the TR and VERS conditions consistently outperforming the control condition to varying degrees across skills. However, no differences have been found between the two experimental conditions. Positive results across different complex skills indicate the Viewbrics online tool can be used to support the development of a wide range of complex skills in secondary education. Lay Description: Known about the subject matter: The acquisition of cross‐curricular complex skills such is crucial for pupils in secondary education.It is important that students and teachers develop a concrete and consistent picture of (aspects of) these so‐called 21st century skills in order to streamline both their acquisition.Textual rubrics may still have room for improvement, as many aspects of desired behavior can hardly be put into words.Many schools in secondary education are struggling with how to teach and assess cross‐curricular skills. What their paper adds to this: So, we designed a online (online) formative assessment methodology, with textual rubrics and the video‐enhanced rubrics.And measured complex skill performance in two secondary, pre‐university education schools for 24 weeks and compared with existing educational practice.Both experimental groups perform significantly better in the three complex skills compared to the control group.However, the video‐enhanced group did not outperform the textual rubric group. The implications of study findings for practitioners: Supporting the formative assessment of complex skills is a recommendable activity for practitioners, that will likely bear fruit.However, incorporating video modeling examples into an online assessment methodology does not result in improvement in complex skill mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) is an important 21st‐century skill for academic and career success, and as a result, there is increased interest among businesses and educational institutions in the assessment and development of CPS skills. CPS skills are difficult to measure using traditional forms of assessment, and that difficulty has led to the use of computer environments that allow individuals to interact in complex situations and capture all actions throughout the process. In the current paper, we describe the design of a collaborative online mathematics task and explore student perceptions of the task and the extent to which the task elicits CPS skills. Results revealed areas of difficulty for students and showed that the task mostly elicited skills associated with the social dimension of CPS. We describe modifications to the task to provide better opportunities for students to display a broader range of CPS skills. An upcoming larger scale pilot study will explore whether the redesigned task can elicit the less observed CPS skills. Report Number: ETS RR–19‐24 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we examined the relationship of students' 21st century skills with their academic and behavioral outcomes. We investigated K‐12 teachers' (n = 150) judgment of students' (n = 3,108) use of 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, affect, and cognition behaviors) via a Likert‐type rating scale. We compared teachers' ratings with students' academic and behavioral outcomes in a southeastern school district. We used Hierarchical Linear Modeling with length of teacher acquaintance with the student as the nesting variable. Teacher ratings for students' low instances of persistence behaviors and high instances of externalizing affect behaviors were predictive of a higher probability of student office discipline referrals. We found a positive correlation for teachers' ratings of students' cognition behaviors and their reading, mathematics, and science outcomes. Teachers' student length of acquaintance was significant for academic outcomes. Results indicated a predictive relationship with teachers' judgment of students' 21st century skills and student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship of teachers' ratings of students' 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, externalizing and internalizing affect, and cognition) via the Human Behavior Rating Scale: Brief (HBRS: Brief; Eaves & Woods‐Groves, 2011) with student performance. Midwestern K‐11 teachers (n = 96) rated students (n = 1,689) via the HBRS: Brief and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). Students' academic (i.e., standardized tests) and behavioral (i.e., office discipline referrals [ODRs] and absences) performance was compared with HBRS: Brief ratings. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers' ratings of students' 21st century skills were related to the following: (a) Persistence with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and absences; (b) curiosity with SDQ emotional symptoms; (c) externalizing affect with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and ODRs; (d) internalizing affect with SDQ emotional symptoms and academic performance, and (e) cognition with academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: From 2006 to 2008, Educational Testing Service (ETS) produced a series of reports titled A Culture of Evidence, designed to capture a changing climate in higher education assessment. A decade later, colleges and universities face a new set of challenges resulting from societal, technological, and other influences, leading to a need to augment the skills expected of college graduates. This report is one of a new series of reports by ETS describing current issues and trends in higher education with a focus on assessment. In this report, we discuss shifts in cognitive and noncognitive skills expected of college graduates in response to new educational and occupational demands. In particular, we describe these demands, the factors influencing them, and the impact of these factors on the instruction and assessment of skills needed for success in higher education and the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the relationship of kindergarten teachers' ratings of their students' 21st century skills (college readiness skills) with students' behavioral and academic performance. Teachers rated the frequency that their students ( n = 579) demonstrated persistence, curiosity, affective, and cognitive (e.g., critical thinking) behaviors within their classrooms via the Human Behavior Rating Scale: Brief (HBRS: Brief, a teacher rating scale. The relationship of the HBRS: Brief teachers' ratings was compared with data the school annually collected (behavioral ratings, academic performance, student office discipline referrals [ODRs], and absences). Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that teachers' ratings of students' persistence and cognition behaviors were significantly associated with students' academic performance. Teachers' persistence, curiosity, and externalizing affect ratings were predictive of behavioral ratings and teachers' externalizing affect ratings were significantly associated with ODRs. The results support the efficacy of investigating teacher perceptions of students' 21st century skills with kindergarteners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how Information and Communication Technologies can support 21st century assessment strategies and what needs to be done to ensure that technological advances support and foster pedagogical innovation. Based on an extensive review of the literature, it provides an overview of current ICT-enabled assessment practices, with a particular focus on the more recent developments of ICT-enhanced assessment tools that recognise 21st century skills. The article also refers to relevant cases of e Assessment, looks into examples of the potential of emerging technologies for e Assessment and discusses some relevant innovation and policy issues. Reflecting on these examples, it argues that, although technological challenges exist, the more pressing task at present is to transcend the traditional testing paradigm and conceptually develop (e) Assessment strategies that allow to more fully exploit the benefits of emerging technologies in order to foster the development of 21st century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]