BRIDGING THE LOGICAL GAP: VISUAL SCRIPTING AS A SCAFFOLDING STRATEGY FOR PHYSICS-BASED GAME DEVELOPMENT IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION.

The acquisition of computational thinking and programming proficiency represents a significant bottleneck for novice engineering students. Traditional syntax-heavy languages often impose a steep cognitive load that hinders the understanding of core algorithmic concepts. This study explores the effic...

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Publicado en:Scientific Culture Vol. 12; no. 2, Part 1; pp. 2716 - 2727
Autores principales: Villagómez-Palacios, Álvaro, De la Fuente-Burdiles, Claudia, Vidal-Silva, Cristian
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: University of the Aegean 2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: BRIDGING THE LOGICAL GAP: VISUAL SCRIPTING AS A SCAFFOLDING STRATEGY FOR PHYSICS-BASED GAME DEVELOPMENT IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION.
      aug:
        au:
          Villagómez-Palacios, Álvaro
          De la Fuente-Burdiles, Claudia
          Vidal-Silva, Cristian
        affil:
          Facultad de Ciencias e Ingenierías Universidad Estatal de Milagro Milagro, Ecuador.
          Department of Interactive Visualization and Virtual Reality, Faculty of Engineering University of Talca Talca, Chile.
      su:
        Visual programming (Computer science)
        Computational thinking
        Student engagement
        Flow charts
        Video game development
        Computer programming education
        Engineering education
      sug:
        subj:
          Visual programming (Computer science)
          Computational thinking
          Student engagement
          Flow charts
          Video game development
          Computer programming education
          Engineering education
      keyword:
        Computational Thinking
        Engineering Education
        Instructional Scaffolding
        Node-Based Programming
        Unity Visual Scripting
      ab: The acquisition of computational thinking and programming proficiency represents a significant bottleneck for novice engineering students. Traditional syntax-heavy languages often impose a steep cognitive load that hinders the understanding of core algorithmic concepts. This study explores the efficacy of node-based visual programming environments, specifically Unity Visual Scripting, as a pedagogical scaffolding mechanism. By shifting the instructional focus from syntax memorization to visual logic flows, we aimed to enhance student engagement and technical competency. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design with a within-subjects approach ($N=22$), we analyzed development efficiency, academic performance, and code complexity. Results demonstrate that the visual paradigm facilitated a smoother transition to complex logic implementation, reducing development time by 30-50% for core mechanics and significantly improving student confidence. Crucially, participants identified Visual Scripting not as a replacement, but as a cognitive bridge that facilitates the understanding of algorithmic logic before tackling syntactic complexities.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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