Measuring Undergraduates’ Motivation Levels When Learning to Program in Virtual Worlds
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- We explain the virtual world’s design and the activities to help students learn functions in Minecraft Education Edition (MEE).
- We analyze and assess the motivation level of Mexican undergraduates using the virtual world MEE.
- We present evidence that a didactic model based on virtual worlds for learning programming is suitable for increasing students’ motivation.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Assessing Motivation in Introduction to Programming
- Attention. It is the first condition for motivation and also for learning. The main challenge is to catch the student’s attention and keep it.
- Relevance. It is related to whether the course is relevant to the students and meets their needs.
- Confidence. The expectation of success in a particular task is important, as it influences the student’s persistence and achievement.
- Satisfaction. When any activity is performed successfully, it is necessary for the person to feel good about it.
2.2. Pedagogical Foundations of Virtual Worlds
2.3. Gender in E-Learning and VW
3. Materials and Methods
- RQ1. Could IP learners using MEE achieve higher motivation levels than traditional learning?
- RQ2. Could men obtain higher motivation levels than women when learning IP using MEE?
3.1. Instruments
3.2. Analysis of Virtual Worlds
3.3. Thematic Content
3.4. Virtual World Design
3.5. Material Design
Design of Didactic Materials in MEE
- -
- Phase 1—Minecraft Education Edition Teacher Academy: A face-to-face and online Minecraft Education Edition Teacher Academy certification was conducted. The certification comprises three sections: (i) beginner, (ii) intermediate, and (iii) advanced. In the beginner section, the designer starts playing in MEE, placing blocks, and managing the materials inventory. In the intermediate, the classroom mode is used. Topics include setting up the classroom and managing NPCs, whiteboards, and posters. Finally, the advanced section focuses on programming with Microsoft Make Code.
- -
- Phase 2—Designing the Material used in MEE: All the information concerning functions and the description of each activity to be performed were stored in a plain text file for later use in the MEE. The information was copied and pasted into the VW in the design phase.
- -
- Phase 3—VW Design: The phase started with a paper design of the general structure of the VW. Subsequently, construction proceeded using the following resources provided by MEE:
- Board (3 × 3 blocks). Used to present information on functions and instructions.
- Poster (2 × 1 blocks). Used to provide information on activities.
- Slate (1 × 1 block). Used for signaling within the VW.
- NPC. Used for presenting information interactively.
- Agent. A programmable element that students use to execute commands within the VW.
- Miscellaneous blocks. Blocks such as concrete, glass, and lights were used to construct the building.
3.6. Activity Implementation
3.6.1. Traditional Lecture
3.6.2. Lesson with Minecraft Education Edition
3.6.3. MEE Activities Evaluation and Paper Test
4. Results
4.1. Results with RIMMS
4.1.1. Results for Attention
4.1.2. Results for Relevance
4.1.3. Results for Confidence
4.1.4. Results for Satisfaction
- “The activity was fun. I easily realized the last activity, called bonus. I will send the results as soon as possible.”
- “Professor, I was able to do the activity. The instructions say to use an if, for, or while. I only used an if and a while. I could not modify more things in the game because I can not use other blocks, but it works.”
4.2. Evaluation in MEE and Test
4.3. T-Student Test Results
4.4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- The sample was not random, as class groups assigned to the teacher were taken.
- The study was conducted online, not in the institution’s computer lab.
- The activity was not performed with MEE in collaborative mode. Each student individually worked on their activities.
- Students used personal computers, and participation was affected as many did not have computers that could properly run MEE.
- From the teacher’s point of view, applying the VMs requires additional time and effort compared to traditional teaching.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
AR | Augmented reality |
ARCS | The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction model |
GPU | Graphics processing unit |
ICTs | Information and communication technologies |
IMMS | Instructional Materials Motivation Survey |
IP | Introductory programming |
LSL | Linden scripting language |
MEE | Minecraft education edition |
NPC | Non-player characters |
RIMMS | Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey |
TDIDE | Three-dimensional immersive digital environments |
VR | Virtual reality |
VW | Virtual worlds |
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Function | Description |
---|---|
agent.move(FORWARD,1) | Moves the agent one block forward |
agent.move(BACK,1) | Moves the agent one block backward |
agent.move(LEFT,1) | Moves the agent one block to the left |
agent.move(RIGHT,1) | Moves the agent one block to the right |
agent.move(UP,1) | Moves the agent one block up |
agent.move(DOWN,1) | Moves the agent one block down |
agent.turn_left() | Turn the agent to the left |
agent.turn_right() | Turn the agent to the right |
Activity | Description |
---|---|
A1. Use Microsoft Make Code | Write code that will be executed within the virtual world to move the “agent” to a specific location. |
A2. Create a function to be executed in the chat | Use the commands in Table 1 to create a function to move the agent in the virtual world. The function’s execution should be done on demand when the function name is typed in the chat. |
A3. Final activity | Define a function for the agent to follow a route marked in yellow. The start and end of the route are marked in red and green, respectively, as observed in Figure 5. |
A4. Bonus activity | Place blocks on the marked area (see Figure 6), with a minimum height of one block. The student was asked to use conditional structures and cycles. Additionally, the design of a function that allows the agent to place a block as it moves through the virtual world was requested. |
Evaluation | M | SD | Pass | Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|
MEE evaluation | 59.33 | 36.81 | 43 | 17 |
Paper test | 31.08 | 36.40 | 13 | 47 |
Variable | t | p-Value | CI | Mean Difference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Attention | −3.39 | 0.001 | [−0.53, −0.14] | −0.33 |
Relevance | −3.11 | 0.003 | [−0.44, −0.10] | −0.27 |
Confidence | −2.56 | 0.013 | [−0.48, −0.06] | −0.27 |
Satisfaction | −1.96 | 0.054 | [−0.43, 0.004] | −0.21 |
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López Solórzano, J.G.; Ángel Rueda, C.J.; Vergara Villegas, O.O. Measuring Undergraduates’ Motivation Levels When Learning to Program in Virtual Worlds. Computers 2024, 13, 188. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13080188
López Solórzano JG, Ángel Rueda CJ, Vergara Villegas OO. Measuring Undergraduates’ Motivation Levels When Learning to Program in Virtual Worlds. Computers. 2024; 13(8):188. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13080188
Chicago/Turabian StyleLópez Solórzano, Juan Gabriel, Christian Jonathan Ángel Rueda, and Osslan Osiris Vergara Villegas. 2024. "Measuring Undergraduates’ Motivation Levels When Learning to Program in Virtual Worlds" Computers 13, no. 8: 188. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13080188