“I am Magic!”: Pupils’ Engagement when Designing in Learning Programming

Type of engagement	Indicators of engagement
Behavioural	involvement in academic, social, or other activities; following rules; following classroom norms; absence of disruptive conduct
Emotional	positive and negative reactions to activities, equipment, people (e.g. teachers or classmates) or the learning context; feelings of belonging or being important
Cognitive	willingness to put necessary effort into understanding complex ideas or mastering difficulties; being strategic; being creative

Overview of the data.

	Lesson 1	Lesson 2	Lesson 3	Lesson 4	Lesson 5	Lesson 6	Lesson 7	Lesson 8	Lesson 9	Lesson 10
SC	SC 1	SC 1	SC 2	SC 2	SC 2	SC 3	SC 3	SC 3	SC 1	SC 1
Grade in compulsory school	8	8	6	1	4	5	8	8	3	3
Number of conversations	4	5	10	4	6	0	2	2	7	8
Programming tool used	Laptop, Scratch	Laptop, Scratch	Laptop, Lego robot	iPad, Scratch JR	Laptop, Scratch	Laptop, Makey-Makey, Lego Robot, Kojo	Laptop, Makey-Makey, Lego Robot, Arduino, Kojo	Laptop, Makey-Makey, Lego Robot, Arduino, Kojo	Laptop, Lego Robot	Laptop, Lego Robot

Analysis 1 of engagement in a programming workshop.

1	Frida now walks around the room,
2	looking at what her friends are
3	doing. After a while, she sits down at	beh
4	the computer again where her peer	beh
5	tries to solve the assignment. The
6	observer sits down next to her.
7	Mia: Are you getting tired?
8	Frida: Uhm… (Frida is hanging
9	over the table)	beh
10	Mia: How has it been so far today?
11	Frida: Good (Frida rubs her eyes	emo
12	when she answers)	beh
13	Mia: Has it been fun?
14	Frida: It has been a bit boring.	emo
15	Mia: Why?
16	Frida: I don’t actually know.
17	During the interview, her peer asks
18	Frida something about the program.
19	*Frida immediately gets up and*
20	points at the screen and shows what	beh
21	to do. She tells her peer that the part	beh
22	*of the program “must be unlimited”*.	cog
23
24	Frida then sits down again with her
25	arms crossed. The interview	beh
26	continues.
27	Mia: Has it been too difficult or too
28	easy or…
29	Frida: Easy!! (Frida answers	emo
30	quickly and cuts off the question.)	beh
31	Mia: Has it been too easy, is that why
32	it’s boring?
33	Frida: Um…

Analysis 2 of engagement in a programming workshop.

34	The instructor explains that they should
35	now try another assignment which also
36	includes plugging in a programming
37	tool to get a closed circuit to send the
38	signals to the computer. When the
39	instructor shows that it is connected by
40	holding the cables in his hands, Anna
41	bursts out (anxiously): It feels like you
42	are going to die!	emo
43	When Anna and her peer later connect
44	their tools, she sounds fascinated when
45	she says: This is so cool, I had no idea	emo
46	*that it worked this way!*	cog
47
48	As the workshop continues, the pupils
49	constantly talk to each other. They talk
50	about what they are doing and how to	beh
51	connect. They wonder if “it can be
52	stronger” if they put the cables in a	cog
53	special way. They show each other
54	what they have done. Anna and her	beh
55	peer get their tools working and Anna
56	calls out to the room: I am magic! I	emo
57	am smart!	emo

Analysis 3 of engagement in a programming workshop.

58	Mia: May I ask what you are doing?
59	Jens: I am programming in Python.	beh
60	Mia: In Python?
61	Jens: Yes!	cog
62	Mia: Because you have done a lot of
63	Scratch and stuff before?
64	Jens: No, not so much Scratch.
65	Mia: … Huh?
66	Jens: I think so, well yes, I get a
67	little cross as soon as someone calls	emo
68	it programming, I think it is
69	graphically rendered.	cog
70	Mia: Okay??
71	Jens: It is a bit like that, ahhh. (Jens
72	clenches his fist and shows
73	resistance.)	emo
74	Mia: And you do not think it is…
75	Jens: NO!* It is not exactly the same*	emo
76	thing!
77	[…]
78	Mia: How did it come about that you
79	chose to participate in this pupil’s
80	choice today?
81	Jens: Because I think programming
82	is fun.	emo
83	Mia: Yeah, and then you didn’t know
84	it was going to be Scratch it was
85	about, or what?
86	Jens: Well I probably knew it would
87	be for the most part, but I also knew	cog
88	that it would be possible for me to
89	work with other languages as well…	cog
90	Mia: OK…
91	Jens: … because it does not usually
92	happen that someone complains
93	when I am programming.	cog
94	Mia: No…
95	Jens: Besides, I did the project! (Jens
96	giggles a little.)
97	Mia: What did you say?
98	Jens: Additionally, I did it in	cog
99	seconds if you really want to see.	beh