Cognitive processes used by children writing Logo programs

Sternberg's (1984, 1985) componential theory was used as a theoretical framework for investigating the cognitive processes used by children of varying levels of expertise as they write Logo programs. Three kinds of processing are proposed by Sternberg: meta-component (M), performance component (P) and knowledge acquisition component (K) processing. Sternberg proposes that M processing mediates P and K processing in novel tasks. With increasing expertise local processing systems are constructed and M processing becomes less dominant, relative to P and K processing. The subjects were 312 primary school children from levels 1 to 7 who were introduced for the first time to Logo programming during two school years. Performance measures were based on two programming tasks, a computer knowledge test, four cognitive tasks and several psychometric tests. The measures of M, P and K processing used while programming were based on planning and style of programming (M), accuracy of programming (P) and mode of programming (K). The interrelationship for M, P and K processing proposed by Sternberg was given empirical support. There was evidence of local processing by children with more expertise. The use of M, P and K processing was found to depend on the nature of the programming task and the level of programming expertise. General non-programming skills were found to predict M processing rather than P or K processing, although the relative contribution of non-programming skills and domain-specific knowledge and skill was dependent on the nature of the task and the child's level of expertise. There was some evidence of enhancement of the use of the general skills due to Logo experience.