Computational Thinking and Literacy

Jacob, Sharin; Warschauer, Mark

doi:10.26716/jcsi.2018.01.1.1

Cited by 78 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Ultimately, we believe our proposal of theory dialogue is a matter of getting CS education researchers to understand the different scales and perspectives in which they are working when studying computational thinking. Recent calls for expanding computational thinking into computational literacy [15,30,38,52,69] potentially offer a construct…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From theory bias to theory dialogue

2020

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T he increased interest in promoting CS education for all has been coalescing around the idea of "computational thinking. " Several framings for promoting computational thinking in K-12 education have been proposed by practitioners and researchers that each place different emphases on either (1) skill and competence building, (2) creative expression and participation, or (3) social justice and ethics. We review each framing and how the framings structure the theory space of computational thinking. We then discuss how CS education can leverage the explanatory potential that each framing offers to the implementation and evaluation of learning, teaching, and tools in computing education. Our goal is to help CS education researchers, teachers, and designers unpack and leverage the complexities of this theory space (rather than ignoring it) while also addressing broader educational concerns regarding diversity, providing new directions for how students and teachers can actively participate in designing their digital futures, and directing current computing education efforts towards a more humanistic orientation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From theory bias to theory dialogue

2020

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“…Some technical elements of the unplugged approach are: simplicity in implementation, active participation, teamwork towards a common goal, or competition towards finding the best or the fastest solution than another group (Nishida et al, 2009). CT shares elements with creative media use since media design and media production are processes requiring programmatic logic (Jacob and Warschauer, 2018). The creative media use is also encountered at low-prototyping methods.…”

Section: Non-technological Micromomentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting moments of creativity, computational thinking, collaboration and new media literacy skills

Tsortanidou

Daradoumis

Barberà

2019

ILS

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Purpose This paper aims to present a novel pedagogical model that aims at bridging creativity with computational thinking (CT) and new media literacy skills at low-technology, information-rich learning environments. As creativity, problem solving and collaboration are among the targeted skills in twenty-first century, this model promotes the acquisition of these skills towards a holistic development of students in primary and secondary school settings. In this direction, teaching students to think like a computer scientist, an economist, a physicist or an artist can be achieved through CT practices, as well as media arts practices. The interface between these practices is imagination, a fundamental concept in the model. Imaginative teaching methods, computer science unplugged approach and low-technology prototyping method are used to develop creativity, CT, collaboration and new media literacy skills in students. Furthermore, cognitive, emotional, physical and social abilities are fostered. Principles and guidelines for the implementation of the model in classrooms are provided by following the design thinking process as a methodological tool, and a real example implemented in a primary school classroom is described. The added value of this paper is that it proposes a pedagogical model that can serve as a pool of pedagogical approaches implemented in various disciplines and grades, as CT curriculum frameworks for K-6 are still in their infancy. Further research is needed to define the point at which unplugged approach should be replaced or even combined with plugged-in approach and how this proposed model can be enriched. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a pedagogical model that aims at bridging creativity with CT, collaboration and new media literacy skills. Findings The proposed model follows a pedagogy-driven approach rather a technology-driven one as the authors suggest its implementation in low-tech, information-rich learning environments without computers. The added value of this paper is that it proposes a novel pedagogical model that can serve as a pool of pedagogical approaches and as a framework implemented in various disciplines and grades. A CT curriculum framework for K-6 is an area of research that is still in its infancy (Angeli et al., 2016), so this model is intended to provide a holistic perspective over this area by focusing how to approach the convergence among CT, collaboration and creativity skills in practice rather than what to teach. Based on literature, the authors explained how multiple moments impact on CT, creativity and collaboration development and presented the linkages among them. Successful implementation of CT requires not only computer science and mathematics but also imaginative capacities involving innovation and curiosity (The College Board, 2012). It is necessary to understand the CT implications for teaching and learning beyond the traditional applications on computer science and mathematics (Kotsopoulos et al., 2017) and start paying more attention to CT implications on social sciences and non-cognitive skills. Though the presented example (case study) seems to exploit the proposed multiple moments model at optimal level, empirical evidence is needed to show its practical applicability in a variety of contexts and not only in primary school settings. Future studies can extend, enrich or even alter some of its elements through experimental applications on how all these macro/micromoments work in practice in terms of easiness in implementation, flexibility, social orientation and skills improvement. Originality/value The added value of this paper is that it joins learning theories, pedagogical methods and necessary skills acquisition in an integrated manner by proposing a pedagogical model that can orient activities and educational scenarios by giving principles and guidelines for teaching practice.

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“…Educational researchers have increasingly drawn attention to how students develop computational thinking (CT) skills [11,15], including in science, math, and literacy contexts [1,6,13]. A key component of CT is the process of abstraction.…”

Section: Problem and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subgoals, Problem Solving Phases, and Sources of Knowledge

Lin

DeLiema

2019

Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

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Educational researchers have increasingly drawn attention to how students develop computational thinking (CT) skills, including in science, math, and literacy contexts. A key component of CT is the process of abstraction, a particularly challenging concept for novice programmers, but one vital to problem solving. We propose a framework based on situated cognition that can be used to document how instructors and students communicate about abstractions during the problem solving process. We develop this framework in a multimodal interaction analysis of a 32-minute long excerpt of a middle school student working in the PixelBots JavaScript programming environment at a two-week summer programming workshop taught by undergraduate CS majors. Through a microgenetic analysis of the process of teaching and learning about abstraction in this excerpt, we document the extemporaneous prioritization of subgoals and the back-and-forth coordination of problem solving phases. In our case study, we identify that (a) problem solving phases are nested with several instances of contextswitching within a single phase; (b) the introduction of new ideas and information create bridges or opportunities to move between different problem solving phases; (c) planning to solve a problem is a non-linear process; and (d) pedagogical moves such as modeling and prompting highlight situated resources and advance problem solving. Future research should address how to help students structure subgoals and reflect on connections between problem solving phases, and how to help instructors reflect on their routes to supporting students in the problem solving process.

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Computational Thinking and Literacy

Cited by 78 publications

References 45 publications

From theory bias to theory dialogue

From theory bias to theory dialogue

Connecting moments of creativity, computational thinking, collaboration and new media literacy skills

Subgoals, Problem Solving Phases, and Sources of Knowledge

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