Eric Wiebe

North Carolina State University | NCSU · Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

The current study compared American, Korean, and Indonesian middle and high school students’ CS attitudes. Concurrently, this study also examined whether the items in the CS attitudes scale exhibit country and gender measurement biases. We gathered data on CS attitudes from middle and high school students in the US, Korea, and Indonesia. The partic...

Prior research has shown that digital games can enhance STEM education by providing learners with immersive and authentic scientific experiences. However, optimizing the learning outcomes of students engaged in game-based environments requires aligning the game design with diverse student needs. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of player behavi...

Game-based learning offers rich learning opportunities, but open-ended games make it difficult to identify struggling students. Prior work compares student paths to a single expert’s “golden path.” This effort focuses on efficiency, but additional pathways may be required for learning. We examine data from middle schoolers who played Crystal Island...

Pedagogical agents offer significant promise for engaging students in learning. In this paper, we investigate students’ conversational interactions with a pedagogical agent in a game-based learning environment for middle school science education. We utilize word embeddings of student-agent conversations along with features distilled from students’...

There is growing recognition that AI technologies can, and should, support collaborative learning. To provide this support, we need models of collaborative talk that reflect the ways in which learners interact. Great progress has been made in modeling dialogue for high school and college-age learners, but the dialogue processes that characterize co...

This section presents an overview of critical developments in technology-driven, classroom-based innovative assessment practices. It uses a framework organized around cognitive constructs, assessment functionality, and automaticity to review the technological developments of innovative assessments and identify how they have been advanced to meet re...

Digital communication methods such as social media, texting, video conferencing account for a significant amount of social interaction traffic; however, in the coming decade, virtual reality (VR) is likely to appropriate much of this space from traditional 2D computer-mediated applications. The current series of studies first compared how different...

Computationally intensive science (CIS)‐related disciplines and careers are predicted to be among the cutting‐edge fields and high‐demand jobs. Such disciplines and careers demand expertise in both traditional scientific knowledge and computer science (CS)‐related understanding and skills. Preparing educational systems for developing interest and a...

Studies of educational games often treat them as “black boxes” (Black and Wiliam in Phi Delta Kappan 80: 139–48, 1998; Buckley et al. in Int J LearnTechnol 5:166–190, 2010; Buckley et al. in J Sci Educ Technol 13: 23–41, 2010) and measure their effectiveness by exposing a treatment group of students to the game and comparing their performance on an...

This study is framed by Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Dewey’s idea of habits and investigates types of science teachers based on four constructs: (a) self-efficacy beliefs, (b) twenty-first-century learning attitudes, (c) the frequency of implementing inquiry-based instruction, and (d) the frequency of using technology in teaching. K-means...

The inclusion of computational thinking (CT) into science curricula has advocated implementing a computationally rich science learning environment where students learn science via building models in a computer programming platform. Such an approach may influence teachers' self-efficacy for teaching science which may also be associated with their se...

Background and Context Students’ self-efficacy toward computing affect their participation in related tasks and courses. Self-efficacy is likely influenced by students’ initial experiences and exposure to computer science (CS) activities. Moreover, student interest in a subject likely informs their ability to effectively regulate their learning in...

Background The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument A (STEBI-A; Riggs & Enochs, 1990 in Science Education, 74(6), 625-637) has been the dominant measurement tool of in-service science teacher self-efficacy and outcome expectancy for nearly 30 years. However, concerns about certain aspects of the STEBI-A have arisen, including the wording, va...

Integral to fostering computational thinking (CT) skills, which are increasingly essential in today's digital era, has been the shift of paper-based pictorial modeling activities to computational modeling. Research has indicated that modeling activities can advance students' understanding of a system's mechanism (i.e., systems thinking), such as an...

Until recently, collaborative programming in elementary contexts largely involved traditional one-computer pair programming, more commonly used in industry and university settings. This chapter outlines the historical background of traditional pair programming and if and how its use with elementary-aged children holds as much promise. We then explo...

This design case chronicles the efforts of an interdisciplinary team of researchers as they collaborated with middle grades science teachers and students to build and refine an epidemic disease curriculum module. The initial five-day design was delivered in five science classrooms at three nearby schools where researcher classroom observations and...

This study examined undergraduate STEM students’ experiences using an online introductory computer programming learning environment equipped with an automated hint generation system. Following a convergent parallel mixed methods design, this study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data from student experiential data. Analysis by level of p...

By encouraging elementary students to work collaboratively, they can gain essential skills such as perspective taking, conflict negotiation, and asking for and receiving assistance. Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) is an analytic technique that provides an alternative to more typical approaches to analyzing and synthesizing coded dialogue. This stu...

This study examined students’ genetics learning in a game-based environment by exploring the connections between the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation and flow theory. A total of 394 secondary school students were recruited and learned genetics concepts through interacting with a game-based learning environment. We measured their sc...

Despite a growing recognition that K-12 teachers should be prepared to teach students computational thinking (CT) skills across disciplines, there is a lack of valid instrumentation that measures teachers’ efficacy beliefs to do so. This study addresses this problem by developing and validating an instrument that measures in-service teachers’ self-...

Recent years have seen a growing interest in player modeling to create player-adaptive digital games. As a core player-modeling task, goal recognition aims to recognize players’ latent, high-level intentions in a non-invasive fashion to deliver goal-driven, tailored game experiences. This paper reports on an investigation of multimodal data streams...

Adaptive and intelligent collaborative learning support systems are effective for supporting learning and building strong collaborative skills. This potential has not yet been realized within noisy classroom environments, where automated speech recognition (ASR) is very difficult. A key challenge is to differentiate each learner’s speech from the b...

Collaborative dialogue provides a rich information source for understanding the effectiveness of student interactions. While many studies emphasize the importance of productive dialogue behaviors, the impact of those behaviors on learners' perceptions of their partners is not yet understood. This paper examines a dialogue corpus of 18 pairs of midd...

Modeling a learner’s frustration in adaptive environments can inform scaffolding. While much work has explored momentary frustration, there is limited research investigating the dynamics of frustration over time and its relationship with problem-solving behaviors. In this paper, we clustered 86 undergraduate students into four frustration trajector...

Research on the use of digital games suggests they can enhance students’ learning; however, teachers often play an important role in mediating gameplay and a game’s educational goals. The purpose of the study was to investigate implementation approaches of nine biology teachers using an immersive digital game in their science classes, focusing on f...

Computational thinking (CT) is being recognized as a critical component of student success in the digital era. Many contend that integrating CT into core curricula is the surest method for providing all students with access to CT. However, the CT community lacks an agreed-upon conceptualization of CT that would facilitate this integration, and litt...

We have established a research-practice partnership (RPP) to establish a computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT)-focused STEM ecosystem at two middle schools. The STEM ecosystem model is used as a framework to address systemic barriers to student participation in computing. Creating a school-based CT/CS-focused STEM ecosystem through...

Computer science (CS) initiatives for elementary students, including brief Hour of Code activities and longer in- and after-school programs that emphasize robotics and coding, have continued to increase in popularity. Many of these initiatives are intended to increase CS exposure to students who historically have been underrepresented in CS academi...

This study investigated middle school students' computer science (CS) learning and monitoring accuracy in the Use-Modify-Create (UMC) progression. This study also examined the effects of prior experience and gender on CS learning and monitoring accuracy measured with sensitivity (proportion of confidence in correct answers) and specificity (proport...

Background and Context: Researchers and practitioners have begun to incorporate collaboration in programming because of its reported instructional and professional benefits. However, younger students need guidance on how to collaborate in environments that require substantial interpersonal interaction and negotiation. Previous research indicates th...

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) environments are increasingly utilized to facilitate classroom instruction. For the game in our study, a formative stealth assessment tool, in the form of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is guided by evidence-centered assessment design (ECD). Cognitive Load Theory and ECD are utilized as diagnostic tools to a...

div> Computational thinking (CT) is being recognized as a critical component of student success in the digital era. Many contend that integrating CT into core curricula is the surest method for providing all students with access to CT. However, the CT community lacks an agreed-upon conceptualization of CT that would facilitate this integration, an...

div> Computational thinking (CT) is being recognized as a critical component of student success in the digital era. Many contend that integrating CT into core curricula is the surest method for providing all students with access to CT. However, the CT community lacks an agreed-upon conceptualization of CT that would facilitate this integration, an...

Primary and secondary students’ exposure to computer science-related activities in school has been steadily increasing, heightening the need for valid measures regarding impact of these activities on students. This study reports on the development and validation process of an instrument to measure students’ affective state as it relates to computer...

Recent years have seen a growing interest in block-based programming environments for computer science education. Although block-based programming offers a gentle introduction to coding for novice programmers, introductory computer science still presents significant challenges, so there is a great need for block-based programming environments to pr...

Game-based learning environments hold significant potential for supporting K-12 computer science (CS) education by providing CS learning experiences embedded within engaging virtual worlds. However, many game-based learning environments do not adaptively support individual students based on their specific knowledge and skills. Often, this is becaus...

https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3386364 The language and concepts used by curriculum designers are not always interpreted by children as designers intended. This can be problematic when researchers use self-reported survey instruments in concert with curricula, which often rely on the implicit belief that students’ understanding aligns with the...

As computer science education opportunities for elementary students (grades K-5) are expanding, there is growing interest in using pair programming with these students. However, previous research findings do not fully support its use with younger learners, and some researchers have begun to examine whether introducing a second computer with a share...

STEM ecosystem is an emerging model for identifying the barriers and support structures that students have in their learning trajectories in STEM. In this paper our university-based research team presents a CS/CT-focused STEM ecosystem strategy designed to address underrepresentation in computing fields. We describe our current and future work with...

Recent years have seen an increasing interest in identifying common student misconceptions during introductory programming. In a parallel development, block-based programming environments for novice programmers have grown in popularity, especially in introductory courses. While these environments eliminate many syntax-related errors faced by novice...

Computational thinking (CT) and modeling are authentic practices that scientists and engineers use frequently in their daily work. Advances in computing technologies have further emphasized the centrality of modeling in science by making computationally enabled model use and construction more accessible to scientists. As such, it is important for a...

There is a currently a shortage of computer science professionals and this shortage is projected to continue into the foreseeable future as not enough students are selecting computer science majors. Researchers and policy-makers agree that development of this career pipeline starts in elementary school. Our study examined which collaborative progra...

As computing skills become necessary for 21st-century students, infused computational thinking (CT) lessons must be created for core courses to truly provide computing education for all. This will bring challenges as students will have widely varying experience and programming ability. Additionally, STEM teachers might have little experience teachi...

Recent years have seen a growing interest in block-based programming environments for computer science education. While these environments hold significant potential for novice programmers, they lack the adaptive support necessary to accommodate students exhibiting a wide range of initial capabilities and dispositions toward computing. A promising...

Computational Thinking (CT) is being infused into curricula in a variety of core K-12 STEM courses. As these topics are being introduced to students without prior programming experience and are potentially taught by instructors unfamiliar with programming and CT, appropriate lesson design might help support both students and teachers. "Use-Modify-C...

Recent years have seen a growing interest in conversational pedagogical agents. However, creating robust dialogue managers for conversational pedagogical agents poses significant challenges. Agents’ misunderstandings and inappropriate responses may cause breakdowns in conversational flow, lead to breaches of trust in agent-student relationships, an...

Pedagogical agents have been shown to be highly effective for supporting learning in a broad range of contexts, including game-based learning. However, there are key open questions around how to design dialogue policies for pedagogical agents that support students in game-based learning environments. This paper reports on a study to investigate two...

Given that pair programming has proved to be an effective pedagogical approach for teaching programming skills, it is now important to explore alternative collaborative configurations. One popular configuration is where dyads collaborate by sharing a single computer sitting side-by-side. However, prior research points to potential challenges for el...

Participatory design practices create informed designs by bringing stakeholders into the design process early and often. This approach is a powerful tool, especially when the designer and the intended user are very different. This paper reports on work in which researchers co-design pedagogical agents to support collaborative computer science learn...

A distinctive feature of game-based learning environments is their capacity for enabling stealth assessment. Stealth assessment analyzes a stream of fine-grained student interaction data from a game-based learning environment to dynamically draw inferences about students' competencies through evidence-centered design. In evidence-centered design, e...

With the increased demand for introducing computational thinking (CT) in K-12 classrooms, educational researchers are developing integrated lesson plans that can teach CT fundamentals in non-computing specific classrooms. Although these lessons reach more students through the core curriculum, proper evaluation methods are needed to ensure the quali...

Collaboration is an effective pedagogical approach in programming instruction. In collaborative programming, students can participate in different types of collaborations settings. Dyads can use individual computers to do side-by-side programming or use a single computer to do pair-programming. However, collaborating side-by-side is not studied as...

Computational thinking (CT) is widely recognized as a critical competency for 21st-century students, and the past decade has seen a proliferation of initiatives to introduce CT into K-12 classrooms, guided in part by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Unfortunately, the vast majority of this CT education research and instruction has focu...

Prerecorded presentation given as a Lightning Talk on March 2nd, 2019 to SIGCSE 2019.

Demand for K-6 computer science (CS) curricula is growing considerably. Many of the existing curricula have been developed by domain experts who are comfortable with specific and technical terminology, which they expect students to master. However, children are not always comfortable with these terms nor do they understand general concepts like 'co...

With national K-12 education initiatives such as "CSForAll," block-based programming environments have emerged as widely used tools for teaching novice programming. A key challenge presented by block-based programming environments is assessing students' computational thinking (CT) and programming competencies. Developing assessment methods that can...

Extensive prior research suggests that pair programming holds many benefits for novices. Pair programming has been well studied at the undergraduate level, and recently, the CS education research community has started to realize that younger learners may also benefit from pair programming. However, an important factor in pair programming success fo...

In 1962, Thomas Kuhn changed our understanding of scientific progress through his explanation of scientific paradigms and attribution of scientific advances to paradigm shifts. According to Kuhn, a discipline's paradigm drives research, provides explanations, and directs the accumulation of discipline-specific knowledge. In 2006 and 2008 Jeanette W...