{"id":1204610,"date":"2023-11-20T05:06:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T10:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1204610"},"modified":"2023-11-20T05:06:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T10:06:45","slug":"support-for-new-computing-teachers-a-tool-to-find-scratch-programming-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1204610","title":{"rendered":"Support for new computing teachers: A tool to find Scratch programming errors"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know that learning to program, and specifically learning how to debug or fix code, can be frustrating and leave beginners overwhelmed and disheartened. In a recent blog article, our PhD student Lauria at the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre highlighted the pivotal role that teachers play in shaping students\u2019 attitudes towards debugging<\/a>. But what about teachers who are coding novices themselves?<\/p>\n

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In many countries, primary school teachers are holistic educators and often find themselves teaching computing despite having little or no experience in the field. In a recent seminar of our series on computing education for primary-aged children<\/a>, Luisa Greifenstein told attendees that struggling with debugging and negative attitudes towards programming were among the top ten challenges mentioned by teachers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Luisa<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Luisa is a researcher at the University of Passau, Germany, and has been working closely with both teacher trainees and experienced primary school teachers in Germany. She\u2019s found that giving feedback to students can be difficult for primary school teachers, and especially for teacher trainees, as programming is still new to them. Luisa\u2019s seminar introduced a tool to help.<\/p>\n

A unique approach: Visualising debugging with LitterBox<\/h2>\n

To address this issue, the University of Passau has initiated the primary::programming project<\/a>. One of its flagship tools, LitterBox<\/a>, offers a unique solution to debugging and is specifically designed for Scratch, a beginners\u2019 programming language widely used in primary schools.<\/p>\n

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You can upload Scratch program files to LitterBox to analyse them. Click to enlarge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

LitterBox serves as a static code debugging tool that transforms code examination into an engaging experience. With a nod to the Scratch cat, the tool visualises the debugging of Scratch code as checking the \u2018litterbox\u2019, categorising issues into \u2018bugs\u2019 and \u2018smells\u2019:<\/p>\n