Journal of Educational Computing Research· 2026Q1
Unraveling the Effects of Block-Based Visual Programming on Students’ Computational Thinking
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- 2026year
Short summary
Block-based visual programming (BBVP) significantly boosts students' computational thinking skills, showing a large positive effect (SMD = 0.887) compared to textual programming, based on a meta-analysis of 24 studies involving 2,441 students.
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Key points
- BBVP demonstrates a large positive effect (SMD = 0.887) on student computational thinking.
- The meta-analysis synthesized data from 24 independent studies and 2,441 students.
- Class size, treatment duration, test type, BBVP type, subject, learning method, and region were identified as significant moderators of BBVP's impact.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Nowadays, computational thinking has been the core necessary skill for students who want to succeed in the 21 st century. Block-based visual programming (BBVP) is one of the most widely used ways to develop student computational thinking. However, its impact on student computational thinking is mixed in the education field. This study conducts a meta-analysis to compare the impacts of BBVP and textual programming on student computational thinking. The result covering 24 independent studies and 2,441 students indicates that BBVP has a large positive effect ( SMD = 0.887, CI = [0.625, 1.148], p < 0.001) on student computational thinking. We also conduct moderator analysis and find that class size, treatment duration, test type, BBVP type, subject, learning method, and region significantly moderate BBVP’s impacts on students computational thinking. Finally, major findings, recommendations, and limitations are provided.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Computer Science Applications
Computer Science ApplicationsComputer Science