A plea for modesty

Hemmendinger, David

doi:10.1145/1805724.1805725

Cited by 103 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our work, however, focuses on what all teachers need to know and be able to do in order to use CT as a means for exploring disciplinary content (e.g., mathematics, science, and literacy). Embedding CT knowledge and skills across the curriculum is essential for helping students understand how to use computing tools to represent knowledge, solve problems, create and discover new questions within specific disciplines (Hemmendinger, 2010). Additionally, the approach of embedding CT across curricula is consistent with current CT frameworks (e.g., CSTA/ISTE) and with the roles of elementary school teachers as generalists (i.e., teaching all subject areas).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resetting educational technology coursework for pre-service teachers: A computational thinking approach to the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

Mouza

Huí

Pan

et al. 2017

AJET

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents the design of an educational technology course for pre-service teachers specific to incorporating computational thinking in K-8 classroom settings. Subsequently, it examines how participation in the course influences pre-service teachers' dispositions and knowledge of computational thinking concepts and the ways in which such knowledge can be combined with content and pedagogy to promote meaningful student outcomes. Data were collected from a self-reported survey and case reports focusing on the design, implementation, and outcomes of computational thinking related lessons in K-8 classrooms.Results indicated that the course positively influenced pre-service teachers' knowledge of computational thinking concepts, tools, and practices. Yet, some participants demonstrated only surface understanding of computational thinking and were unable to design lessons that meaningfully integrated computational thinking concepts and tools with disciplinary content and pedagogy. Findings have implications for the design of teacher education experiences that help prepare pre-service teachers develop technological pedagogical content knowledge in relation to computational thinking concepts and practices.

show abstract

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resetting educational technology coursework for pre-service teachers: A computational thinking approach to the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

Mouza

Huí

Pan

et al. 2017

AJET

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Computational thinking is not entirely embraced by all; critics suggest that the term is narrowing (Denning, 2009) or that computational thinking processes are widespread in other sciences (Hemmendinger, 2010). Indeed, definitions of computational thinking tend to be by example (Lee et al, 2011).…”

Section: Computational Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Two-Dimensional Categorization System for Educational Tasks in Informatics

Dagienė¹,

Sentance²,

Stupurienė³

2017

Informatica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.Computational thinking is an increasingly important focus in computer science or informatics curricula around the world, and ways of incorporating it into the school curricula are being sought. The Bebras contest on informatics, which originated 12 years ago and now involves around 50 countries, consists of short problemsolving tasks based on topics in informatics. Bebras tasks engender the development of computational thinking skills by incorporating abstraction, algorithmic thinking, decomposition, evaluation and generalization. Bebras tasks cover a range of informatics concepts including algorithms and data structures, programming, networking, databases and social and ethical issues. Having built up a substantial number of Bebras tasks over 12 years it is important to be able to categorise them so that they can be easily accessed by the Bebras community and teachers within schools. The categorization of tasks within Bebras is important as it ensures that tasks span a wide range of topics; there have been several categorization schemes suggested to date. In this paper we present a new twodimensional categorization system that takes account of computational thinking skills as well as content knowledge. Examples are given from recent tasks that illustrate the role that Bebras can play in the development of computational thinking skills.Keywords: Bebras contest, computational thinking, informatics concepts, informatics education, categorization, databases. IntroductionAttracting youngsters to choose to study computer science or computing (widely known as informatics in Europe) at high school has always been a challenge for computer science educators. The idea of developing a contest in informatics and computer fluency for school students originated in the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuania (Dagiene, 2005;. The contest has now been extended to become a "challenge" and is being held in more than 50 countries. The challenge name "Beaver" -in Lithuanian "Bebras" -was chosen in connection with the hard-working, intelligent, goal seeking and lively wild animal.The Bebras challenge is an informatics education community-building model and is designed to promote informatics learning at schools by solving short concept-based tasks (Dagiene & Stupuriene, 2016). Alongside the initial goal of the Bebras project to motivate students to be more interested in informatics topics, there is a strong intention to deepen algorithmic and operational thinking; more recently this is also extended to computational thinking.Tasks are the most important component for developing computational thinking. In accordance with requirements, each Bebras task should include at least one informatics concept, attract children's attention by a story, picture or interactivity, be short (fit on a computer screen), and not require specific technical knowledge. Part of the task development is the categorization of tasks with the intention of having a broad range of tasks across different content areas.In this paper we examine the...

show abstract

“…Subsequent research has expanded and interpreted the term further (Lu et al, 2009, Grover & Pea, 2013, Selby & Woollard, 2013). Computational thinking is not entirely embraced by all; critics suggest that the term is narrowing (Denning, 2009) or that computational thinking processes are widespread in other sciences (Hemmendinger, 2010). Among other contributions coming from educators, Lee et al (2011) suggest that we should start from practical examples of what we mean by computational thinking, and identify the terms "abstraction", "automation", and "analysis" as being particularly useful to understand how young pupils can deal with novel problems.…”

Section: Computational Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Computational Thinking! Bebras Tasks in the Curriculum

Dagienė

Sentance

2016

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.Bebras is an award-winning, international contest and challenge in informatics that has been running for 12 years in primary and secondary schools, with 50 countries now participating. From a single contest-focused annual event the Bebras developed to a multifunctional challenge; an activitiesbased educational community-building network has grown up where the development of Bebras tasks has taken a very significant role. Bebras tasks present a motivating way to introduce computer science concepts to students as well as developing computational thinking skills. Tasks are categorized in terms of the concepts being covered, and each task includes an explanation of how the task relates to informatics. In this paper we propose that Bebras tasks can be used within the school curriculum (whether it is called informatics, computer science, computing or information technology) to promote computational thinking and provide teaching materials. We give examples of Bebras tasks that could be incorporated into the curriculum, and make recommendations for schools wishing to develop children's computational thinking skills.Keywords: Bebras contest, computational thinking, computer science education, informatics curriculum, informatics education, task solving IntroductionThere is an increasing focus on computational thinking within the teaching of computer science, computing or informatics (from here on referred to as informatics) in school. Computational thinking was only recently popularised as a concept in 2006 by Wing (2006), although the original definition stems from Papert (1996). Wing claims that computational thinking is for everyone and involves "solving problems, designing systems and understanding human behaviour, by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science" (Wing, 2006, p. 34). Some new informatics curricula have a significant focus on computational thinking skills being developed, for example in England (Brown et al, 2014) and Poland (Syslo & Kwiatkowska, 2015). In the longstanding Bebras contest (Bebras, 2016), tasks are designed which demonstrate computer science principles whilst engaging students in problem-solving in a motivating way.Bebras is an informatics education community-building model and is designed to promote informatics learning in school by solving short concept-based tasks (Dagiene & Stupuriene, 2016). Tasks are the most important component of the Bebras model. Each Bebras task should include at least one informatics concept, attract children's attention by a story, picture or interactivity, be short (fits in a computer screen), and not require specific technical knowledge. Some countries use the Bebras to strengthen collaborative learning; for example, in Germany pupils solve Bebras tasks in pairs during a contest and discussions are allowed between the pairs.Alongside the initial goal of the Bebras project to motivate pupils to be more interested in informatics topics there is a strong intention to deepen algorithmic, logical and operational thinking and, more recently, c...

show abstract

A plea for modesty

Cited by 103 publications

References 5 publications

Resetting educational technology coursework for pre-service teachers: A computational thinking approach to the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

Resetting educational technology coursework for pre-service teachers: A computational thinking approach to the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

Developing a Two-Dimensional Categorization System for Educational Tasks in Informatics

It’s Computational Thinking! Bebras Tasks in the Curriculum

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About