Publications | marinabers

Prof. Bers has published over 200 peer-reviewed academic papers, conference proceedings and book chapters. Many of this publications are written with her students and collaborators. To access them, click here.

2024

Zhanxia, Y., Blake-West, J., Dandan, Y., & Bers M. U. (Expected Publication Date: Feb. 2025). The impact of a block-based visual programming curriculum: Untangling coding skills and computational thinking. Learning and Instruction, Volume 95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102041

Blake-West, J., Alrawashdeh, G., & Bers, M. (2024). Validating a Creative Coding Rubric through expressive activities for elementary grades. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2398502

Alrawashdeh, G. S., Nadler, E. C., & Bers, M. U. (2024). Virtual Professional Development Enhances Elementary Teacher Coding Skills and Self-Efficacy: A Comparison of Three Models. In New Approaches in Mobile Learning for Early Childhood Education (pp. 114-137). IGI Global.

Francisca Carocca, P., Blake-West, J., & Bers, M.U. (2024). An International Community of Practice Through ScratchJr: The Coding as Another Language Curriculum Around the World. In Education, Development and Intervention. Integrated Science, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60713-4_3

2023

Bers, M. U. (2023). El desarrollo de Scratch-Jr: el aprendizaje de programación en primera infancia como nueva alfabetización. Virtualidad, Educación y Ciencia, 14(26), 43-62.

Yang, D., Yang, Z., & Bers, M. U. (2023). The efficacy of a computer science curriculum for early childhood: evidence from a randomized controlled trial in K-2 classrooms. Computer Science Education, 1-21.

Levinson, T. & Bers, M.U. (April 2023). Don’t Assume Deficit: Disability, Coding, and Computational Thinking in Early Elementary School. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Levinson, T. & Bers, M.U. (April 2023). Coding Languages: Coding and Computational Thinking in a Language-Diverse Preschool. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Ben Ari, A., Levinson, T., Bers, M. U., & Rosenberg-Kima, R. B. (2023). Nurturing Computational Thinking in an Israeli Kindergarten with the CAL-KIBO Robotics Curriculum. American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

Blake-West, J. C., & Bers, M. U. (2023). ScratchJr design in practice: Low floor, high ceiling. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2023.100601

Blake-West, J., & Bers, M. U. (2023). ScratchJr Connect: Sharing resources for digital making around the world. Montréal, QC, Canada: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

Bers, M. U., Levinson, T., Yang, Z., Rosenberg-Kima, R. B., Ben-Ari, A., Jacob, S., Dubash, P., Warschauer, M., Gimenez, C., Gonzalez, P., & Gonzalez, H. (2023). Coding as Another Language: An International Comparative Study of Learning Computer Science and Computational Thinking in Kindergarten. In P. Blikstein, J. van Aalst, & K. Brennan (Eds.), 17th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) (pp. 1659–1665). https://2023.isls.org/proceedings/

Yang, Z. & Bers, M. (2023). Examining gender difference in the use of scratchjr in a programming curriculum for first graders. Computer Science Education.

Bers, M. U., Blake-West , J., Kapoor, M. G., Levinson, T., Relkin, E., Unahalekhaka, A., & Yang, Z. (2023). Coding as another language: Research-based curriculum for early childhood computer science. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 64, 394–404. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.05.002

Relkin, E., Johnson, S. K., & Bers, M. U. (2023). A Normative Analysis of the TechCheck Computational Thinking Assessment. Educational Technology & Society, 26(2), 118-130. https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202304_26(2).0009

Kapoor, M. G., Yang, Z., & Bers. M. (2023). Supporting Early Elementary Teachers’ Coding Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Through Virtual Professional Development. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 30 (4). 1-31. 2023.

2022

Levinson, T., & Bers, M. U. (2022). Student Centered Computational Thinking for Children with Disabilities. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

Bers, M., A. Strawhacker and A. Sullivan (2022), “The state of the field of computational thinking in early childhood education”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 274, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3354387a-en.

Strawhacker, A., Relkin, E., Bers, M.U. (2022). Designing an Adaptive Assessment for Preschool Children’s Robotics Knowledge. Educational Designer, 4(15). ISSN 1759-1325. Retrieved from: http://www.educationaldesigner.org/ed/volume4/issue15/article60/

Unahalekhaka, A., & Bers, M. U. (2022). Clustering Young Children’s Coding Project Scores with Machine Learning. 2022 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON52537.2022.9766579

Strawhacker, A., Govind, M., & Bers, M. U., (2022, April 21-26). Understanding the Experiences of Early Childhood Professionals’ Navigation of Remote Teaching and Learning With Technology [Paper Presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. https://www.aera.net/Publications/Online-Paper-Repository/AERA-Online-Paper-Repository

Unahalekhaka, A., Bers, M.U. (2022). Evaluating young children’s creative coding: rubric development and testing for ScratchJr projects. Educ Inf Technol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10873-w

2021

Bers, M., Govind, M., & Relkin, E. (2021) Coding as Another Language: Computational Thinking, Robotics, and Literacy in First and Second Grade. in Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., & Yadav, A. (2021). Computational Thinking in PreK-5: Empirical Evidence for Integration and Future Directions. ACM and the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund, New York, NY

Govind, M. & Bers, M. (2021). Assessing Robotics Skills in Early Childhood: Development and Testing of a Tool for Evaluating Children’s Projects. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 7(1).

Bers, M. (2021). Coding, robotics and socio-emotional learning: developing a palette of virtues PIXEL-BIT. Revista de Medios y Educación, 62, 309-322.

de Ruiter, L. E. & Bers, M. U. (2021). The Coding Stages Assessment: development and validation of an instrument for assessing young children’s proficiency in the ScratchJr programming language. Computer Science Education. DOI: 10.1080/08993408.2021.1956216

Sullivan, A., & Strawhacker, A. (2021). Screen-Free STEAM: Low-Cost and Hands-on Approaches to Teaching Coding and Engineering to Young Children. In S. Garvis & C. Cohrssen (Eds.), Embedding STEAM in Early Childhood Education and Care (pp. 87-113). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Unahalekhaka, A., & Bers, M. U. (2021). Taking coding home: Analysis of ScratchJr usage in home and school settings. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10011-w

Relkin, E., de Ruiter, L.E., Bers, M.U. (2021). Learning to Code and the Acquisition of Computational Thinking by Young Children. Computers & Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104222

Relkin E. &, Bers, M. (2021). TechCheck-K: A Measure of Computational Thinking for Kindergarten Children. In 2021 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). IEEE. pp. 1696-1702, https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON46332.2021.9453926.

Relkin, E. & Bers, M. U. (2021). Factors Influencing Learning of Computational Thinking Skills in Young  Children. Virtual Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

For publications dating 2020 and before, please visit the DevTech website.