Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Improving learners’ coding skills
THE digital game-based learning platform Minecraft Education can help learners improve their skills in coding and robotics which will stand them in good stead when they enter the workplace of the future.
This is according to a new study at Stellenbosch University.
“Minecraft Education and its virtual robot, the Agent, can enhance engagement, support the development of skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and provide learners with a positive, meaningful, enjoyable learning experience,” said Cape Town-based teacher Michael Vorster who recently obtained his Master's degree in Curriculum Studies at the university.
“Coding and robotics are considered integral components of STEM education for their potential to develop 21st century skills,” said Vorster.
He focused on how Minecraft Education and the Agent can be integrated as a digital game-based tool to support the teaching and learning of coding and robotics in a Grade 7 class at an independent Cape Town school.
Vorster said the Grade 7 learners completed a Minecraft Virtual City project in their first term where they had to work in pairs or groups of three within the same Minecraft world to develop a vacant plot of their choice (residential, commercial or industrial).
The groups worked in unison to create their virtual city in Minecraft while learning about city planning. Their teacher created the map with the vacant slots.
They also did a Minecraft Agent Coding Module in that same year that required them to follow a set of specific instructions to code their Agent so that it could perform specific actions such as creating a borehole, placing water inside the borehole, building an animal farm and a greenhouse.
The coding module was linked to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
Vorster said feedback showed that Minecraft Education holds the potential to foster engagement, collaboration and creative problem-solving skills, and prepare learners for future technological landscapes and careers.
“It significantly contributed to
emotional, cognitive, and behavioural learner engagement by providing an immersive, interactive and enjoyable learning environment. This helps sustain learners' interest, motivation and active participation.”
“The game offers enjoyment through play, presents appropriate challenges, and allows for progression in learning coding and robotics skills. It encouraged creative problem-solving and collaboration among learners.
“They were collaborating by helping each other to correct or ‘debug' their code and they celebrated together when they had completed a task successfully.”
Vorster said that in previous coding modules, learners would start to lose interest as soon as the coding and robotics activities became too challenging.
“However, with the use of Minecraft Education, it seemed that they were able to stay engaged for longer with more perseverance and started displaying problem-solving skills to deal with more complex challenges.
Vorster emphasised the role of teachers as crucial in motivating, encouraging and guiding learners during the coding and robotics module.
“Feedback from learners indicated that the teachers' input and involvement with them during a coding and robotics lesson had a direct impact on their cognitive and behavioural
engagement with the tasks. A sense of belonging among learners as well as support and encouragement from teachers, were regarded as two important aspects of emotional and behavioural engagement.”
Vorster said that coding and robotics activities require learners to develop a set of instructions that a robot needs to execute.
“This forms the code that the robot follows to execute a task, for example, to move in a specific direction. Learners often find that the robot does not execute the task they anticipated, resulting in them having to go back to their code to correct or ‘debug' it.
“It is important to keep learners engaged, especially when tasks become more challenging, otherwise they may give up without finding a viable solution to the ‘bug' in their code.”
Vorster acknowledges that while a growing number of independent schools in South Africa have begun developing their own coding and robotics lessons as part of their STEM curriculum, many schools still can't afford robotics kits. “This remains a hurdle in South Africa. However, public-private partnerships could offer a potential solution.”
The Minecraft game was released in 2011 and bought by Microsoft in 2014.