Understanding Fun in Learning to Code: A Multi-Modal Data approach

The role of fun in learning, and specifically in learning to code, is critical but not yet fully understood. Fun is typically measured by post session questionnaires, which are coarse-grained, evaluating activities that sometimes last an hour, a day or longer. Here we examine how fun impacts learning during a coding activity, combining continuous physiological response data from wristbands and facial expressions from facial camera videos, along with self-reported measures (i.e. knowledge test and reported fun). Data were collected from primary school students (N = 53) in a single-occasion, two-hours long coding workshop, with the BBC micro:bits. We found that a) sadness, anger and stress are negatively, and arousal is positively related to students' relative learning gain (RLG), b) experienced fun is positively related to students' RLG and c) RLG and fun are related to certain physiological markers derived from the physiological response data.