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This paper presents a novel approach for predicting the outcomes of elementary students’ participation in computer science (CS) instruction by using exit tickets, a type of practical measure, where students provide rapid feedback on their instructional experiences. Such feedback can help teachers to inform ongoing teaching and instructional practices. We fit a Structural Equation Model to examine whether students' perceptions of enjoyment, ease, and connections between mathematics and CS in an integrated lesson predicted their affective outcomes in self-efficacy, interest, and CS identity, collected in a pre- post- survey. We found that practical measures can validly measure student experiences.
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This content will become publicly available on April 22, 2026
Integrating Elementary Computer Science and Mathematics Instruction: One Size does not fit All
This paper presents a model, the double integration model, for integrating Computer Science (CS) and mathematics in upper elementary instruction. Fifth-grade students (n=1,037) participated either in the double integrated model (Condition 1; integrated in both CS and Math instruction) or integrated lessons only in CS instruction (Condition 2). After each lesson, students rated their enjoyment, perceived ease, and perceptions of CS-math connections. Multilevel analyses revealed that Condition 1 students reported significantly more positive perceptions and stronger CS-math connections of the lessons than Condition 2 students. Girls in Condition 1 responded more positively than boys on enjoyment and connection items, and outperformed Condition 2 girls across all measures. These findings underscore the double integration model's effectiveness.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2031382
- PAR ID:
- 10617344
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Educational Research Association
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Denver, Colorado
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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