Abstract:

In this study, as a simplified method to record and analyze the process of programming learning from the viewpoint of Actor Net Theory (ANT), we propose having learners draw "learning episode mangas" in which anthropomorphic non-human characters appear. ANT, derived from sociological studies of science and technology, considers events such as the formation and establishment of scientific facts and the diffusion of new technologies emerging as the effects of heterogeneous networks. An outstanding feature of ANT is that it recognizes non-humans as having the same agency as humans. Thus, heterogeneous networks include not only humans but also objects (non-humans) with equal agency. In this study, we try to analyze a learning process from the standpoint of ANT by having learners to draw "learning episode mangas" in which anthropomorphic non-human characters appear after each learning session. As mangas are composed of spoken conversations between characters, the relationships among characters and their changes can be expressed naturally. By including anthropomorphic nonhuman characters in the episodic manga, we expect to be able to capture the formation and change of networks between humans and nonhumans. We examined this method in a university class in which 17 humanities students engaged in micro:bit programming. The activity consisted of five 90-minute sessions. In the first and second sessions, students learned the basics of programming, and in the third, fourth, and fifth sessions, learners mutually acted as clients and programmed functions desired by their clients. At the end of each session, the students were asked to draw a learning episode manga featuring an anthropomorphic micro:bit at the end of each session. From submitted mangas (231 frames in total), we extracted scenes in which the micro:bit converses with the students, and found the following four positions of micro:bit in relation with the students:
a) "Strict Senior" who refuses to talk to the layman (student) or looks down on him;
b) "Friendly Guide" who encourages the student and leads him into the world of programming;
c) "Peer" who discusses and cooperates with the student on equal terms; and
d) "Aid Recipient" who tries to become a system valuable to the client with the help of students.

The relationship between the progress of the class and the ratio of the occurrence of the four positions was examined, and the following findings were obtained:
(1) "Strict Senior” was more frequent in the first lesson, and then decreased.
(2) "Friendly Guide" appeared throughout the activity,
(3) "Peer" emerged as the work progressed,
(4) "Aid Recipient" appeared when the students started to program for their clients and continued to increase until the last session, and
(5) the ratios of the four positions changed, but all remained until the end, and the learners moved freely between types of relations.

In this study, the programming learning process can be depicted as a change in the relationship between the learner, micro:bit, and the client. The results also suggest that learning does not converge to a single relation type but rather to an enrichment of relation types and the possibility of moving between them. Mangas featuring an anthropomorphic microbit would have contributed to the understanding of these theoretical suggestions.

Keywords:

Programming education, micro:bit, Actor network theory, Anthropomorphic actor, Manga.