CodeStitch: Leveraging Analogical Encoding in a Game Space

Abstract

Computer programming is highly collaborative, whether practiced in the form of on-site pair-programming or asynchronous reusing and remixing of code. Digital games have become an attractive tool for teaching coding, yet rarely do they account for collaboration among players. The goal of this paper is to show how asynchronous collaboration can be leveraged in a game-space by facilitating players to share and compare their solution methods. By comparing and contrasting code side-by-side players are more likely to detect structural (rather than superficial) similarities and differences (analogical encoding). A pilot study involving pre-teens found that this design feature led to reflection on the differences and different affordances of the solution methods based on their deep structure.