The Right Kind of Help: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Intervention Methods in Elementary-Level Visual Programming

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2512.11735v1
• Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2025 17:22:06 GMT
• Title: The Right Kind of Help: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Intervention Methods in Elementary-Level Visual Programming
• Authors: Ahana Ghosh, Liina Malva, Alkis Gotovos, Danial Hooshyar, Adish Singla,
• Abstract summary: We present a large-scale study comparing the effectiveness of various intervention methods in elementary programming.<n>Specifically, we compare three intervention methods: code-edit recommendations (Code-Rec), quizzes based on code edits (Code-Quiz), and quizzes based on metacognitive strategies (Plan-Quiz)<n>All intervention methods significantly improved learning performance over the control group while preserving students' problem-solving skills in the post-learning phase.
• Score: 19.887538703101168
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Prior work has explored various intervention methods for elementary programming. However, the relative impact of these methods during the learning and post-learning phases remains unclear. In this work, we present a large-scale study comparing the effectiveness of various intervention methods in elementary programming both during learning and on novel tasks post-learning. Specifically, we compare three intervention methods: code-edit recommendations (Code-Rec), quizzes based on code edits (Code-Quiz), and quizzes based on metacognitive strategies (Plan-Quiz), along with a no-intervention control (group None). A total of 398 students (across grades 4-7) participated in a two-phase study: learning phase comprising write-code tasks from the Hour of Code: Maze Challenge with the intervention, followed by a post-learning phase comprising more advanced write-code tasks without any intervention. All intervention methods significantly improved learning performance over the control group while preserving students' problem-solving skills in the post-learning phase. Quiz-based methods further improved performance on novel post-learning tasks. Students in intervention groups also reported greater engagement and perceived skill growth.

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