A Case Study on Peer pair and parent-child pair of elementary school students learning Logo programming

[[abstract]]The purpose of this study was designed to observe and analyze cooperative ways, levels of dialogue, cooperative willingness, and learning attitudes of peer pairs and parent-child pairs learning MSWLogo programming for the fourth-grade elementary school students in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. This qualitative study, used a multiple-case study analysis, was designed to evaluate learning styles and interactive information for purposive sample of three peer pairs (sexual classification of each peer pair is two-boy, two-girl, and boy-girl) and three parent-child pairs (blood relationship of each parent-child pair is father-son, mother-son, and mother-daughter). Instructional experiment divided into two phases, was implemented by means of programming activities in summer vacation in that parent-child cooperation is a non-formal education activity during that period of school time. Including twelve sections of programming instruction, MSWLogo course was carried out fifty minutes each section. After instructor taught one-section course, each pair was asked to solve problems cooperatively and immediately. Besides, each pair was also demanded to work out practical puzzles at the end of each stage. As a result, implications and performance were scrutinized and examined in individual pairs. In addition, participants were interviewed profoundly and individually in order to investigate cooperative patterns and learning attitudes of varied pairs. The results and conclusions were followed: In the aspect of cooperative modalities, including: (1) Regarding the view of operational right, peer pairs were incompatible with sharing a computer mutually at the initial cooperative stage except that two-girl pair could coordinate their efforts to operate by turns. However, afterward better-performance participant of each peer pair had earned more opportunities to operate the shared computer. As for parent-child pairs, the shared computer was operated by the child of each parent-child pair. It was occasionally involved in taking control of the situation by their parent, especially the second phase. (2) Regarding the view of leading right, each person of peer pairs had initially the same opportunities to participate in solving problems; however, afterward the more difficult instructions and graphics were, the more opportunities better-performance participant of each peer pair had. As for parent-child pairs, the process of the problem-solving was interfered and dominated by parent when their child encountered greater difficulties except mother-son pair. Concerning mother-son pair, the problem-solving programming was completely dominated by parent throughout the entire process instead. It was found out that the cooperative and interactive styles of parent-child pairs reflected the ways of parent’s upbringing and attitude from the content of the interviews. In the levels of dialogue, including: (1) There were extremely high percent of procedural conversations in each of all sixth pairs. It was assumed that peer pairs or parent-child pairs had to operate and implement instructions continuously so as to finish MSWLogo graphics. Therefore, it resulted in many conversations related to the steps of programming implementation. There might have not been the same results in learning other subjects. (2) There had been considerable social conversations in two-boy pair and boy-girl pair except two-girl pair. Instead of sociabilities, it seemed that there had been more numerous discussions related to programming tasks in two-girl pair. In the Willingness to cooperate, the peer group of three children and all children are like parent-child groups such matching means and the will to participate in the same way of matching study, three other children, peer group comparison study of a person like themselves. In the Interested in learning, peer group of four children and all the parent-child groups like children learning MSWLogo programming, also interested in learning more advanced courses, only two peer groups that children learn the program design more difficult. It is on the conclusions of this study for three follow-up study recommended: (1) The observation of parent-child pairs cooperation will help children learn MSWLogo programming, More than the implementation of recommendations of the parent-child pair in Primary school learning programming or computer skills courses； (2) The observation of the two-girl pair to discuss mutual cooperation, two-boy pair and boy-girl pair Easy wins for the right to operate, but also more Easily by one person-led problem solving. Proposal could explore different gender-matching study will affect students study the effectiveness of programming; (3) The syntax of MSWLogo programming is too simple, proposed to use the more complex syntax of the programming language for the same study, such as: Python, or permission to observe different from the results of this study was observed.