I’m especially glad that the project also funds a doctoral position – combining cutting-edge research with early career support. A great opportunity! 🙌

We investigate the learning processes that emerge when building & programming come together, how this fosters logical reasoning & problem-solving. Our aim: closing existing research gaps in primary education and provide empirical insights into which didactic approaches work. 📊📚

📄 Read the full Open Access paper: "Introducing computational thinking to second and third graders. Programming whole paths outperforms step-by-step navigation in maze tasks" 👉

🔬 After this promising pilot, we’re hoping for funding to launch our new project “COMPI.LE”, where we’ll explore these questions even further.

💡 Well-designed digital environments—like Scratch-based programming with robotics—can successfully stimulate core CT processes already in lower primary school.

🔁 A mediation analysis confirmed: The effect of the intervention on posttest achievement was explained by the degree of algorithmicizing during the task.

📊 The results are clear: Children in the programming condition... ✅ used longer command sequences ✅ relied more often on full sequences rather than single steps ✅ and ultimately achieved higher learning gains

To test this, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing two maze tasks for children: 🧊 One group programmed whole paths using Scratch blocks 🦉 The other group gave verbal commands step by step

We asked: Can programming with Scratch-based icon blocks and LEGO® robotics kits foster algorithmicizing—defined as explicating at least two different steps in a sequence—more effectively than verbal step-by-step navigation?

📣 How can we design learning environments that stimulate algorithmic thinking—already in 2nd and 3rd grade? Our new study, just published in Computers and Education Open, investigates exactly that. 🧵👇 https://t.co/5XkouMCE8j

🎯 Takeaway: Gender differences in spatial skills may emerge before age 10—but depend largely on task complexity. MERRO provides a new lens to understand and monitor early spatial cognition. 🔗 https://t.co/GOzg2No8QB #GenderDifferences #MERRO #PrimaryEd #OpenAccess

Not all tasks show gender effects—but stimulus characteristics matter: 🟢 Everyday stimuli = less bias 🔴 Complex 3D + perspective = larger (still low) gender gap MERRO makes these patterns visible early in development.

📊 Key findings from N = 387 students: - Boys completed more tasks than girls across all grades - Performance differences grow with increasing task complexity - Most pronounced (but still low) gender gap: 3D-tilted cube items

We developed MERRO, a fast new group test to assess mental rotation in grades 1–4. It systematically varies: ✔️ Rotation angle ✔️ Perspective / tilt ✔️ Real-world vs. cube stimuli ✔️ 2D vs. 3D complexity

🚨 New publication in IEJME (open access): "The interaction of task complexity and gender on mental rotation skills in primary school students" by Dinah Reuter & myself, Frank Reinhold 📘 https://t.co/GOzg2No8QB #MathEd #SpatialAbility #MentalRotation

👨‍🎓 A cornerstone for Maria Oppmann’s PhD—supported by the Daimler Benz Foundation https://t.co/NEkvVQq55x. Part of our broader effort to use learning analytics to improve digital math education. #MathEd #Fractions #EdTech #OpenAccess #RCT #LearningAnalytics

🎯 Why does it matter? Fraction equivalence is a foundational concept—but hard to teach. Many students fall back on natural number reasoning. Our findings help explain why adaptive tools work—and how to support conceptual change effectively.

Our mediation analysis shows: ✔️ Adaptive features ↑ engagement → ↑ learning ⚠️ But: some students got distracted by the digital device → ↓ learning Engagement is key—and not all students engage the same way.

🧠 Key takeaway: It’s not just about having adaptive support—it’s about using it meaningfully. We identified engagement profiles linked to perceptions of autonomy, competence & overload.

🔍 What’s the study about? We explored how adaptive digital learning environments support students’ conceptual understanding of equivalent fractions. RCT with 300 sixth-graders + real-time log data! 📊