This poster presents findings on middle school students’ understanding of core computer science (CS) concepts, such as variables and control structures, using cognitive think-aloud interviews with eight students. Each student worked on 16-22 formative assessment tasks designed to assess understanding on the ‘Algorithms and Programming’ middle school CS standards. Our study describes students’ interpretations of the CS concepts and discusses potential factors influencing student interpretations. Significance and next steps are described.
Yang, H., Basu, S., Rutstein, D., Rachmatullah, A., Tate, C., Ortiz, C., & Rulifson. (2023) Uncovering middle school CS students’ understanding of variables and control structures: A cognitive think-aloud approach. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Montreal, Canada.