Developing Computational Thinking Skills of 8th-Grade Students Using Animations Integrated into Blended Learning in Flipped Classroom

Abstract

Currently, animations have been widely used as a learning media. It is a key component to thriving learning and understanding for learners appealed to by sound and animations. Computational thinking skills are included in computing science courses in which a student still has a lack of understanding and low-level achievement. The objectives of this experimental research were: 1) to design and create animations to develop computational thinking skills in the form of motion graphics; 2) to develop a computational science learning package based on blended learning management in a flipped classroom integrated with the developed animations; 3) to develop computational thinking skills and learning achievement using the developed learning package; and 4) to study the satisfaction towards the learning management. The sample used in this research was 30 students who were studying in semester 2 of the academic year 2022 at a school in Det Udom District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. The research tools include motion graphic-based animations and a learning package based on blended learning management in the flipped classroom integrated with animations. The data were analyzed by percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test collected from learning achievement tests, computational thinking skill tests, and questionnaires. The research results were as follows: 1) the efficiency of our developed animations and computational science learning package was 81.11/81.00, 2) the average of students’ computational thinking skills was good, 3) the average post-learning achievement score was statistically higher than that of the pre-learning achievement score, and 4) the average of students’ satisfaction was at the high level.