Evaluating the Use of Remixing in Scratch Projects Based on Repertoire , Lines of Code (LOC), and Elementary Patterns

Abstract

This Full Paper in the Research Category evaluates the use of remixing in Scratch. A feature of the Scratch programming environment is that it supports students to share their code and “remix” (modify) other students’ code. Remixing in Scratch has garnered much attention by the research community as use of collaboration for learning was one of the main ideas behind Scratch. It can provide opportunities to read others’ code, learn how features can be implemented using the Scratch language, and contribute to the program. It can also prevent students from engaging with the code if they copy an existing program that does what they are trying to do without needing modification. The literature shows mixed results regarding use of remixes in Scratch. We have investigated at a large scale what happens in practice by analysing thousands of student programs shared through the Scratch online repository. As well as replicating prior work on a larger scale to show the impact of remixing on learning programming skills through Lines of Code (LOC) and repertoire of block usage, we also measure the use of elementary patterns (common combinations of commands). We track the progress of each project through its remixes and compare the results between the root version and the final version.