Two papers, two conferences, and two very different perspectives on primary computing education. We are happy to share two new paper acceptances from our group. 🎉
Competition can make learning games engaging, but rankings, speed, and direct comparison can also create social pressure. In this paper, we introduce soft competition, a design pattern that keeps visible progress and a clear win condition while moving away from learner-versus-learner comparison.
We explore this idea through Trail Tinkers, a tangible Ozobot board game for pairs of third-grade pupils. Instead of leaderboards or rewards for finishing first, teams progress by solving programming tasks together and collecting tokens across different task categories.
We evaluated the game with 67 pupils across three classes. Most teams showed high levels of teamwork and task-related communication, and pupils reported high enjoyment and willingness to play again. The results suggest that game-like progression can remain motivating without making outperforming others the central goal.
Citation
Soft Competition in Tangible Game-Based Learning for Primary Computing Education (Accepted for Publication)
Ramona Beinstingel,
Tim Sommer, and
Stephan Krusche.
15th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance
(GALA 2026
)
.
L'Aquila, Italy,
November
2026.
The experience report paper Empowering Teachers to Teach Computing: Design Experiences from Developing LEARN-Kit has been accepted at the 2nd ACM Virtual Global Computing Education Conference and will be presented at the Virtual Event.
Our second paper looks at a different challenge: How can we make computing lessons easier to implement for teachers without a computer science background?
Based on the iterative development of LEARN-Kit, we derive six design characteristics for low-threshold, teacher-facing unplugged computing materials. These include complete lesson packages, equipment-independent activities, familiar lesson structures, embedded scaffolding, inclusive design, and modularity.
The materials were refined through practitioner consultations, expert review, classroom piloting, and independent teacher-led use. One recurring message was particularly encouraging: teachers valued having complete, ready-to-use materials that reduced preparation effort while still providing enough background and guidance to teach the activities confidently.
A key takeaway is that lowering the threshold for teaching computing does not necessarily mean simplifying the subject matter. Sometimes, the bigger difference comes from designing the materials around the realities of teachers’ work.
Citation
Empowering Teachers to Teach Computing: Design Experiences From Developing LEARN-Kit (Accepted for Publication)
Ramona Beinstingel,
Lukas Maximilian Ederer, and
Stephan Krusche.
2nd ACM Virtual Global Computing Education Conference
(SIGCSE Virtual 2026
)
.
Virtual Event,
November
2026.