The Impact of Applying GenAI in Scratch Programming on University Students' Computational Thinking

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is one of the widely applied AI technologies in programming education. However, the impact of applying GenAI in Scratch on university students' computational thinking and learning outcomes remains unclear. Seventy-eight undergraduates participated in this experiment during their Scratch programming course. The study found that both creativity, critical thinking, and computational thinking significantly improved in both the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group showing more significant enhancements in algorithmic thinking and collaborative skills. We further discovered that the Scratch projects created by the experimental group were significantly superior to those of the control group in terms of practicality and technicality, while no differences were observed in creativity and artistry. This research validates the effectiveness of applying GenAI in Scratch programming for fostering computational thinking among university students, providing valuable insights for educational practices aimed at developing computational thinking skills.