Identification of Performance, Motivation, and Support Needs in Coding Education Provided for the Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Coding education, which enhances the computational thinking skills of K-12 students, is increasingly integrated into the curricula of various countries. However, such education is often excluded from the curricula designed for students with special needs. A review of the literature indicates a significant scarcity of studies dedicated to the coding instruction process for this population. To effectively integrate coding and computational thinking into the curricula for students with special needs, it is essential for educators to understand the appropriate materials and instructional supports that can enhance student motivation and participation during coding lessons. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a secondary school student with mild intellectual disabilities in coding education, with a focus on the materials used, student motivation, challenges encountered during the instruction, and the specific support needs of the student. Employing a holistic single case design, the research incorporates the perspectives of a secondary school special education student regarding their coding education, alongside observations made by the researcher. The findings indicate that the participant actively engaged in the coding education, with block-based coding activities being the most motivating among the various coding activities offered. Furthermore, the study identifies the essential individual supports required by the participant, which include concretization, verbal clarification of the tasks to be performed during each session, and access to the block-based coding platform.

Keywords

• special education
• mild intellectual disability
• coding
• motivation
• computational thinking.
• özel eğitim
• hafif düzey zihinsel yetersizlik
• kodlama
• motivasyon
• bilgi işlemsel düşünme.