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Author ORCID Identifier

  1. Sara Redondo-Duarte.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2012-8784  
  2. José Manuel Sáez-López. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5938-1547

Abstract

This study evaluated the integration of coding, visual block programming, game engines, and machine learning (ML) modeling in initial teacher education. The aim was to examine the feasibility of this instructional approach and its association with pre-service teachers’ computational knowledge and attitudes toward programming and artificial intelligence (AI). A one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented with 129 undergraduate students enrolled in Primary Education degree programs at two public universities in Spain. Knowledge of computational concepts was assessed with a 10-item test analyzed using a paired-samples Student’s t-test, while attitudes toward programming and ML were evaluated with two Likert scales analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Significant pre-post improvements were observed in participants’ understanding of computational concepts and in several attitude measures related to programming, coding, and ML. Participants also reported positive perceptions of the educational value of coding and AI. However, no statistically significant improvements were found in self-reported practical experience with visual block programming or educational game engine programming. These findings suggest that integrating coding, game engines, and ML into initial teacher education is associated with positive learning outcomes and favorable attitudes toward these technologies. Nevertheless, given the one-group pretest-posttest design, the observed improvements should be interpreted cautiously, as causal relationships cannot be established. The results also indicate that longer and more intensive practical experiences may be necessary to develop technical programming competencies. Overall, this instructional proposal may serve as a useful framework for future teacher education initiatives aimed at promoting computational thinking and AI literacy.

First Page

177

Last Page

198

Ethics Approval

Yes

Declaration Statement

Data, Materials and/or Code availability: Data available on request from the authors  The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [J.-M. S.-L.], upon reasonable request.

 

Funding: Competitive I+D+I project: Creative programming in primary education. Development of materials and proposals for block coding, game engines, machine learning, and robotics. (PID2022-136442OB-I00) Knowledge Generation Projects 2022. (MICINN). Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain.

Conflict of Interest : The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

 

Competing interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

 

Ethics approval, Consent to participate /Consent for publication, Not applicable

 

Authors’ contribution statements

 

Conceptualization, S. R-D , J-M.S-L. methodology, S. R-D, J.-M.S.-L; software, J.-M.S.-L. ;validation, S. R-D..; formal analysis, J.-M.S.-L.; investigation, J.-M.S.-L and S. R-D.; resources, J.-M.S.-L, and S. R-D.; data curation, J.-M.S.-L.; writing—original draft preparation, J.-M.S.-L. and S. R-D.; writing—review and editing, J.-M.S.-L. and S. R-D.; visualization, J.-M.S.-L.; supervision, J.-M.S.-L. and S. R-D.; project administration, S. R-D , J.-M.S.-L.; funding acquisition, J.-M.S.-L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Permission to reproduce material from other sources: N/A Clinical trial registration: N/A

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