2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Developing a Virtual Worlds Framework for Early Childhood

Presented at Computers in Education Division (COED) Track 4.C

Over the past decade, rather than simply restricting children's access to technology, there has been a marked shift toward actively monitoring and managing their interactions with it. The focus has moved toward fostering safe and developmentally appropriate environments where children can engage meaningfully with digital tools. However, despite these proactive efforts, the speed at which children are adopting and immersing themselves in digital environments has far outpaced the development of interventions, resulting in a significant gap in resources and strategies to support these interactions effectively. Furthermore, much of the existing research primarily centers on older students, leaving younger learners underserved. This highlights the critical need for the creation of age-appropriate resources tailored specifically for early childhood.
This paper proposes a solution by developing a Computational Thinking Virtual Worlds (CT VW) Framework designed specifically for early childhood. The framework provides a structured approach to guide educators and game developers in designing and evaluating the quality of virtual worlds as a learning platform for young students. The framework introduced in this paper outlines best practices for virtual world design and is expanded to include computational thinking components, ensuring broader applicability to various types of early childhood virtual worlds beyond those focused solely on computational activities.
This framework will be evaluated by STEM early childhood educators and game development experts. Through this process, we aim to provide robust resources for creating engaging, educational, and developmentally appropriate virtual experiences for the youngest learners

Authors

Dr. Safia Malallah Kansas State University [biography]

Dr. Safia Malallah is a teaching assistant professor at Kansas State University, where she completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science. Her research is dedicated to advancing computer science and data science education across the PreK-12 and undergraduate levels. Dr. Malallah is particularly passionate about designing innovative and accessible learning experiences that cultivate essential computational skills in students
Dr. Ejiro U Osiobe http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1107-6620 [biography]

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Lior Shamir Kansas State University [biography]

Associate professor of computer science at Kansas State University.
Joshua Levi Weese Kansas State University [biography]

Dr. Josh Weese is a Teaching Assistant Professor at Kansas State University in the department of Computer Science. Dr. Weese joined K-State as faculty in the Fall of 2017. He has expertise in data science, software engineering, web technologies, computer science education research, and primary and secondary outreach programs. Dr. Weese has been a highly active member in advocating for computer science education in Kansas including PK-12 model standards in 2019 with an implementation guide the following year. Work on CS teacher endorsement standards are also being developed. Dr. Weese has developed, organized and led activities for several outreach programs for K-12 impacting well more than 4,000 students.
Nathan H. Bean http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1970-1427 Kansas State University [biography]

Dr. Nathan Bean is a Teaching Associate Professor at Kansas State University Department of Computer Science and Co-Director of the Advancing Learning and Teaching in Computer Science (ALT+CS) Lab. His research is focused on the need to grow the body of students skilled in computing – both within the field of Computer Science, and within other disciplines that increasingly rely on the tools computer science makes available to advance their own work. Thus, his research involves investigations into how to effectively reach a broader and more diverse audience of students, and developing pedagogical techniques and technologies that allow it to be done at scale.
Russell Feldhausen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7236-3933 Kansas State University [biography]

Russell Feldhausen received a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2008, and a master’s degree in computer science in 2018, both from Kansas State University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in computer science with a focus on computer science education, also at K-State. Feldhausen’s research interest is computer science education, targeting rural populations and exploring ways to integrate mastery learning into CS curricula. He is also actively involved in many K-12 outreach programs providing curricula and teacher training throughout Kansas.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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