Exploring Middle School Students' Reflections on the Infusion of CS into Science Classrooms
Mehmet Celepkolu, David Austin Fussell, Aisha Chung Galdo, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Eric Wiebe, Bradford Mott, James C. Lester · 2020
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in teaching CS in the context of other disciplines such as science. However, learning CS in an interdisciplinary context may be particularly challenging for students. An important goal for CS education researchers is to develop a deep understanding of the student experience when integrating CS into science classrooms in K-12. This paper presents the results of a mixed-methods study in which 75 middle school students engaged in a series of computationally rich science activities by creating simulations and models in a block-based programming language. After two semesters, students reported their experiences on in-class computer science activities through reflection essays. The quantitative results show that both experienced and novice students increased their CS knowledge significantly after several weeks, and a majority of students (72%) had positive sentiment toward the integration of CS into their science class. Deeper qualitative analysis of students' reflections revealed positive themes centered around the visualization and gamification of science concepts, the hands-on nature of the coding activities, and showing science from a different angle. On the other hand, students expressed negative sentiments on weaknesses in the activity design, lack of CS/science background/interest, and failing to make connections between CS and science concepts. These findings inform efforts to infuse CS education into different disciplines and reveal patterns that may foster success of K-12 classroom implementations.