The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children

Computational thinking (CT) can be developed in a multitude of ways. Well-known examples are plugged-in and unplugged applications that focus primarily on the (combined) usage of visual, textual, or tangible modalities. Less obvious are applications where CT development can be established via an aud...

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Main Authors: Nardie Fanchamps, Emily Van Gool, Anna Folkertsma, Kim De Meyst
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Education Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1380
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author Nardie Fanchamps
Emily Van Gool
Anna Folkertsma
Kim De Meyst
author_facet Nardie Fanchamps
Emily Van Gool
Anna Folkertsma
Kim De Meyst
author_sort Nardie Fanchamps
collection DOAJ
description Computational thinking (CT) can be developed in a multitude of ways. Well-known examples are plugged-in and unplugged applications that focus primarily on the (combined) usage of visual, textual, or tangible modalities. Less obvious are applications where CT development can be established via an auditory modality, to which the importance of creativity is attributed. When reasoning from such a different contextual perspective, it is interesting to investigate whether the self-creation of electronic music influences CT development and what added value can be attributed to creativity. Therefore, a mixed-methods study was conducted on primary school pupils aged 10 to 13 using FL-Studio Mobile<sup>©</sup> music-producing software. Quantitative data were obtained using a pre-test–post-test assessment administered via a validated Computational Thinking Test (CTt). Qualitative data were obtained by conducting interviews to ascertain identifiable effects on CT sub-characteristics to determine the influence of creativity and creative thinking and children’s perceptions in this regard. Our results indicate that applying music-making software has measurable effects on CT development, particularly with respect to invoking and using auditory modalities. Notable findings were identified on the CT sub-characteristics “loops”, “conditionals”, “functions”, “nesting”, and “CT tasks required”. Our study shows that producing music using technology stimulates creativity, which seems to be an important parameter for CT development. Differences between girls and boys were observable. Further research on the interaction between CT and creativity, combining different modalities, is recommended.
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spelling doaj-art-d2340ed6c8034d64b5a40d588d7c46142024-12-27T14:22:41ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-12-011412138010.3390/educsci14121380The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School ChildrenNardie Fanchamps0Emily Van Gool1Anna Folkertsma2Kim De Meyst3Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Technology Enhanced Learning & Innovations, Open University, 6419 AT Heerlen, The NetherlandsFaculty for Teacher Education, Department de Nieuwste Pabo, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, 5612 MA Eindhoven, The NetherlandsBS De Hovenier, 6065 AJ Montfort, The NetherlandsImage-Line, 9000 BE Ghent, BelgiumComputational thinking (CT) can be developed in a multitude of ways. Well-known examples are plugged-in and unplugged applications that focus primarily on the (combined) usage of visual, textual, or tangible modalities. Less obvious are applications where CT development can be established via an auditory modality, to which the importance of creativity is attributed. When reasoning from such a different contextual perspective, it is interesting to investigate whether the self-creation of electronic music influences CT development and what added value can be attributed to creativity. Therefore, a mixed-methods study was conducted on primary school pupils aged 10 to 13 using FL-Studio Mobile<sup>©</sup> music-producing software. Quantitative data were obtained using a pre-test–post-test assessment administered via a validated Computational Thinking Test (CTt). Qualitative data were obtained by conducting interviews to ascertain identifiable effects on CT sub-characteristics to determine the influence of creativity and creative thinking and children’s perceptions in this regard. Our results indicate that applying music-making software has measurable effects on CT development, particularly with respect to invoking and using auditory modalities. Notable findings were identified on the CT sub-characteristics “loops”, “conditionals”, “functions”, “nesting”, and “CT tasks required”. Our study shows that producing music using technology stimulates creativity, which seems to be an important parameter for CT development. Differences between girls and boys were observable. Further research on the interaction between CT and creativity, combining different modalities, is recommended.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1380technology-enhanced learningcomputational thinkingcreativitymusic producingauditory modality
spellingShingle Nardie Fanchamps
Emily Van Gool
Anna Folkertsma
Kim De Meyst
The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
Education Sciences
technology-enhanced learning
computational thinking
creativity
music producing
auditory modality
title The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
title_full The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
title_fullStr The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
title_full_unstemmed The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
title_short The Influence of Music Producing and Creativity on Computational Thinking in Primary School Children
title_sort influence of music producing and creativity on computational thinking in primary school children
topic technology-enhanced learning
computational thinking
creativity
music producing
auditory modality
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1380
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