The Effects of Prior Computer Experience and Gender on High School Students´ Learning of Computer Science Concepts from Instructional Simulations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of prior computer knowledge and gender on high school novices´ learning of computer science concepts from instructional simulations designed based an experiential-based pedagogical perspective. There were 94 10th-graders taking the introductory course on computer science identified as the low and high prior computer knowledge in this study. Participants´ motivation and perceived-usefulness toward the employed instructional simulations and performance were evaluated. A quasi-experimental study was employed to examine the effects of prior computer knowledge and gender on dependent measures. The results indicated that (a) the high-prior-knowledge learners possessed higher motivation and perceived-usefulness toward the employed instructional simulations, (b) males revealed higher motivation and perceived-usefulness than females, (c) females outperformed males on the performance evaluation, and finally, (d) the low prior computer knowledge learners performed as well as the high-prior-knowledge learners while learning from instructional simulations.