Cognitive and affective mechanisms of programming and computational thinking

Background and goals

In our digital age, programming skills are becoming increasingly important. The better we understand how children and young people acquire programming and which skills are important for this, the better we can support them individually.

In this project, we want to find out how we can record programming skills and their basics in different age groups. We also want to take a closer look at how coding is related to other skill areas such as mathematics. In addition, we need a better understanding of the emotional and motivational factors that influence coding acquisition.

This is also crucial if we want to proactively address the current underrepresentation of girls and women in computer science. The findings of the project will enable us to develop customized learning environments for different age groups based on individual ability and interest profiles.