Map-Based Unplugged Coding in Elementary Social Studies: A Pre-Experimental Study on Third-Grade Students’ Computational Thinking Skills

Mila Marliana; Nurdiansyah Nurdiansyah; Tiara Yogiarni; Mariano Dos Santos

doi:10.59923/joinme.v4i3.956

Authors

Mila Marliana Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Purwakarta, Indonesia
Nurdiansyah Nurdiansyah Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Purwakarta, Indonesia
Tiara Yogiarni Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Purwakarta, Indonesia
Mariano Dos Santos Instituto Católico Para A Formação de Professores, Baucau, Timor Leste

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59923/joinme.v4i3.956

Keywords:

Computational Thinking, Unplugged Coding, Social Studies, Map, Elementary School

Abstract

This study was motivated by the importance of computational thinking (CT) skills in elementary school Social Studies learning, particularly for helping students decompose travel routes and understand map concepts. It aimed to examine the difference in third-grade students’ CT skills before and after learning that integrates unplugged coding with map media in Social Studies. A quantitative pre-experimental approach with a one-group pretest-posttest design was employed, involving 23 third-grade students (from an initial cohort of 26) in Class III-A at SDN 02 Sindangkasih. Data were collected using a five-item CT test covering decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking, and were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, a paired-sample t-test, and the Normalized Gain (N-Gain) index. The mean CT score increased from 45.87 (pretest) to 74.56 (posttest). The paired-sample t-test indicated a statistically significant difference, t(22) = -6.74, p < .001, with a large effect size (d ≈ 1.41), leading to the rejection of H₀ and the acceptance of Hₐ. The mean N-Gain was 0.54, falling into the medium category. These findings indicate that map-based unplugged coding was associated with a significant improvement in third-grade students’ computational thinking skills, although the absence of a control group means this improvement cannot be attributed to the intervention alone.

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