Scratch and unity design in elementary education: A study in initial teacher training

Background The present study analyses the design of programming literacy in the sixth grade of Primary Education, starting from the use of simple activities with visual block-based programming, through Scratch, and progressively linking difficulty to the use of the Unity engine, and the C# language, with simple activities identical to those created in Scratch. Objectives This research aims to evaluate future teachers' abilities and attitudes regarding programming and its educational possibilities. We intend to evaluate the viability of a teaching proposal that combines a visual block-based programming environment and a more advanced one, based on C#. Method In the settings of two public Spanish universities, we analyse the possibilities in the training of future teachers who are studying for a degree in Primary Education Teaching and a degree in Pedagogy. Based on a test and three scales, descriptive data and statistical inference are detailed through a quasi-experimental design with a Student's t-test in the first dimension, and a Wilcoxon test in the second dimension. Results The participants improved their performance and attitudes towards programming with the intervention of the study in the use of coding. Conclusions It can be concluded that coding is essential in teacher training, and that a greater presence of programming training in higher education is essential. The benefits are visible in the pedagogical approach of coding related to creativity, innovation, motivation, an active approach and interest, highlighting the fact that the implementation of visual block-based programming by blocks and engines is feasible in Elementary Education. The training proposal—provided by appropriate progression, selection, and sequencing of content—fosters basic and practical teacher training, and this can be defined as an apt training solution.