Extending Scratch Framework to Improve the Analytical Skills of Undergraduate Students

Scratch is an innovative and the most popular block-based Visual Programming Language designed for beginners to learn programming effectively. However, it lacks the capacity to allow users to learn and solve larger real-world problems such as the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). Hence, there is a need for an accessible and effective tool to assist beginners and novice programmers in learning and tackling the TSP. This paper introduces ScratchTSP, an extension of the Scratch programming Framework, specifically designed for the TSP. It offers an opportunity for beginners and novice programmers to grasp the TSP and the various algorithms used to solve it. For evaluation, we conduct a survey among undergraduate students to assess the usability and usefulness of the proposed ScratchTSP extension. Survey findings indicate that ScratchTSP offers a user-friendly and effective tool for beginners or novice programmers, aiding them in learning the TSP while developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.