Using Scratch with Primary School Children: An Evaluation of Games Constructed to Gauge Understanding of Programming Concepts

Newer approaches such as games-based learning (GBL) and games-based construction are being adopted to motivate and engage students within the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) in Scotland. GBL and games-based construction suffer from a dearth of empirical evidence supporting their validity as teaching and learning approaches. To address this issue this paper will present the findings of observational research at PE level using Scratch as a tool to construct computer games. A list of criteria will be compiled for reviewing the implementation of each participant to gauge programming proficiency. The study will review 29 games from Primary 4 to Primary 7 level and will present the overall results and results for each individual year. This study will contribute to the empirical evidence in games-based construction by providing the results of observational research across different levels of PE and will provide pedagogical guidelines for assessing programming ability using a games-based construction approach.