Evaluation of Learning Informatics in Primary Education

How does learning about informatics in primary education unfold in the eyes of teachers and their students? We report on the evaluation results from a distributed project in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) and some implications of these findings for future improvements. Three modules for informatics in primary education and a corresponding concept for teacher training were developed collaboratively by researchers and practitioners. The project was assessed with methods of formative and summative evaluation. The first results indicate that teaching and learning of informatics in primary education are possible. It is regarded overall as rewarding and exciting, but it was difficult for primary school students and teachers as well to discern the bigger picture of informatics education and thus to relate the topics taught and learned to everyday experiences.