Effectiveness of Introductory Coding Education on the Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Hong Kong
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1 Effectiveness of Introductory Coding Education on the Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Hong Kong Liberal Arts Students: A Case Study A doctoral thesis presented by Eric H. C. Chow to the Graduate School of Education In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the field of Education College of Professional Studies Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts August 2020 2 © Copyright by Eric H. C. Chow 2020 All Rights Reserved 3 Abstract The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the effectiveness of introductory coding education offered by a publicly funded liberal arts university in Hong Kong. Of particular focus is the lived experiences of non-CS (computer science) students who attended the introductory coding courses offered at the university. The research questions of this study are as follows: (1) How do non-CS students describe their learning experience and challenges in self- efficacy beliefs development with respect to their participation in introductory coding education? (2) How are faculty integrating introductory coding education into academic programs for non- CS students? Data collection included semi-structured interviews, document review of course syllabi, review of course projects, as well as review of assignments. Participants for the interviews included six non-CS students who attended introductory coding courses, and three faculty members who have taught introductory coding courses or worked in academic programs that included introductory education at the research site. Data was analyzed using descriptive coding and revealed the presence of an informal student hierarchy in the introductory coding courses . Unhelpful feedback from teaching assistants and instructors have failed to help some of the students develop coding self-efficacy, while learning from online resources through self-help and working with non-CS peers helped rebuild their self-efficacy. The students also reported successful transfer of learning to other courses or attempted to study advanced topics in coding outside the regular university curriculum. Interestingly, students who failed to gain coding self- efficacy were not afraid to transfer their learning to other courses. Keywords: coding education, self-efficacy, non-CS students 4 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 Problem of Practice ..................................................................................................................... 8 Significance of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 11 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 14 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 15 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 24 Historical Development of Coding Education .......................................................................... 25 Learning Outcomes of Coding Education ................................................................................. 28 Coding in Modern Society ........................................................................................................ 34 Coding Self-Efficacy Beliefs .................................................................................................... 40 Students Experience in Coding Education ................................................................................ 44 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter Three: Research Design .................................................................................................. 52 Qualitative Research Design ..................................................................................................... 52 Research Site and Participants .................................................................................................. 56 5 Procedures ................................................................................................................................. 57 Criteria for Quality Qualitative Research ................................................................................. 61 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 67 Chapter Four: Findings and Analysis ........................................................................................... 68 Sources of Data ......................................................................................................................... 68 Theme 1: Coding and Career .................................................................................................... 72 Theme 2: CS versus Non-CS Peers .......................................................................................... 75 Theme 3: Progression of Self-efficacy Development ............................................................... 83 Theme 4: Receiving Feedback and Help .................................................................................. 87 Theme 5: Impact on Further Learning ...................................................................................... 92 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 96 Chapter Five: Discussion and Implications for Practice ............................................................... 99 Review of the Study .................................................................................................................. 99 Finding 1: Presence of an Informal Student Hierarchy .......................................................... 101 Finding 2: Characteristics of Hong Kong Liberal Arts Students ............................................ 104 Finding 3: Acquiring Self-efficacy through Exercises, Help, and Feedback ......................... 107 Finding 4: Learning Transfer of Coding Skills and Knowledge............................................. 109 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 112 Recommendations for Practice ............................................................................................... 114 6 References ................................................................................................................................... 119 Appendix A - Student Interview Protocol .................................................................................. 139 Appendix B - Faculty Interview Protocol ................................................................................... 141 Appendix C - Follow-up Telephone Interview Protocol ............................................................ 143 Appendix D - Signed Informed Consent Document for Student Interview ................................ 144 Appendix E - Signed Informed Consent Document for Faculty Interview ................................ 147 Appendix F - IRB Approval, Northeastern University ............................................................... 150 7 Acknowledgement I am grateful for all of the support I have received throughout the doctoral program and with this dissertation. I would like to thank Dr. Kelly Conn for her early reading and shaping of the premise of this dissertation project, and Dr. Adriel Hilton for his guidance from the beginning of this research project to the end. I would also like to thank Dr. Mounira Morris for reading, reviewing and providing feedback to my entire dissertation, and Professor Christopher Keyes for his time, insights, and support as a third reader of this dissertation. Thank you to all my classmates from the Northeastern EdD Hong Kong cohort, and the administrative staff at Kaplan Hong Kong for your continuous support throughout my doctoral journey. Thank you to Mr. Jodey Udell, my high school teacher who has made computer programming fun to learn. Thank you to my loving parents, Paul and Lavender, who have shown me the value of education since my youth. Above all, thank you to my beautiful and beloved wife, Rita, for all your caring, understanding and encouragement throughout the years – I am thankful and humbled to be a part of your life. 8 Chapter One: Introduction Problem of Practice Governments around the world are aggressively promoting coding education in the K-12 sector. Former US president Barack Obama allocated $4 billion in funding for developing coding education in K–12 sector through the Computer Science for All initiative (Smith, 2016). In Japan, coding has become a compulsory subject in all Japanese primary schools (Sano, 2019). In the