Online pair-programming: elementary school children learning scratch together online

The COVID-19 pandemic raised the need to examine online learning methods also in young children. This study examined elementary school children's performance and attitudes during and toward an online programming learning activity utilizing the pair-programming Agile method that may foster 21st-century skills, including collaboration and computational thinking. Forty 4th–6th grade children with basic programming knowledge of Scratch were randomly assigned to either a pair-programming or solo-programming condition. Overall, children in both conditions enjoyed the online learning activity and completed it successfully. In particular, pair-programming seemed to entail an extra benefit to girls who generally preferred working in pairs. Nevertheless, children in the pair condition took longer to complete all tasks, perceived the third task, which was completed individually, as more difficult, and were less active when their partner was more competent. Implications for post-COVID-19 learning are discussed.