Game Design as a Teaching Method: Informative Mini-Games for Programming Concepts and Computational Thinking (IMPACT)
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Content of this page
Profile
- Project leadership
- Bernadette Spieler (PHZH)
- Project team
- Larissa Meyer-Baron (PHZH), Janine Trütsch (PHZH)
- Organisational unit
- F-BW-BDW (Bildung und Digitaler Wandel)
- Project phase
- Completed (1.6.2024 – 31.12.2025)
- Project type
- Research & development project
- Funding
- Other
Description
In this project, a series of unplugged mini-games (approximately 5–6 mini-games) covering different programming concepts and computational thinking (CT) will be developed. Each mini-game will focus on a specific concept such as loops, conditions or variables, encouraging children’s problem-solving skills through creative challenges. The project will be tested in close collaboration with Year 4 children to ensure that the games meet their needs and abilities. This game can be used, for example, as a supplement to or preparation for a coding course to introduce different concepts in a playful way.
There is a clear gap in the 3rd and 4th grade curriculum that does not adequately cover the understanding of basic programming concepts and CT. This leads to children entering Year 5 without the necessary prior knowledge, where programming and coding concepts are usually introduced for the first time. his project aims to close this gap by creating an unplugged, playful learning environment that introduces 4th grade children to the essential concepts of programming in an age-appropriate and motivating way.
Publications
Janine Trütsch; Larissa Meyer-Baron; Bernadette Spieler (2025) IMPACT: Informative Mini-Games for Programmingconcepts and Computational Thinking. Entwicklung eines Unplugged-Programmierspiels für die 4. Klasse. Zwischenbericht
Larissa Meyer-Baron; Janine Trütsch; Bernadette Spieler (2025) From Play to Code: Preparing Young Learners for Coding with an Unplugged Board Game (Grade 4)
In: Constructionism Conference Proceedings, 8, p. 595–596.