Computational Thinking in Italian Schools

Corradini, Isabella; Lodi, Michael; Nardelli, Enrico

doi:10.1145/3059009.3059040

Cited by 60 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…It is almost equal in elementary school; then the number of girls involved in competitions concerning first and second grade of secondary school drastically decreases. These results are similar to those found in another, independent MIUR initiative to promote Informatics and computational thinking [2].…”

Section: Ops and Gendersupporting

confidence: 90%

Problem Solving Olympics: An Inclusive Education Model for Learning Informatics

Borchia¹,

Carbonaro

Casadei

et al. 2018

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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The paper presents the Olimpiadi di Problem Solving, a mild and inclusive competition aimed to promote computational thinking and general problem-solving in Italian schools. We describe motivation, teaching strategies behind the initiative, as well as its structure, organization and give some sample of the problems proposed to students. We also present some data that show the broad participation of Italian schools to the initiative, and a preliminary analysis of the results obtained by the students in the last 5 editions, which suggests that the competition fosters deep learning of computational thinking knowledge and skills.

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Section: Ops and Gendersupporting

confidence: 90%

Problem Solving Olympics: An Inclusive Education Model for Learning Informatics

Borchia¹,

Carbonaro

Casadei

et al. 2018

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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“…We believe these elements, while of course shared with other disciplines or very general, must be understood inside the discipline of CS; otherwise, as stated by Voogt et al (2015), this "runs the risk of diluting the idea of CT, blurring and making it indistinct from other 21st century skills". For example, Corradini et al (2017a) found that teachers saw the value of a nation-wide "coding" project more in fostering transversal competencies or domain-general skills (like promotion of awareness and comprehension of problem solving, logical thinking, creativity, attention, planning ability, motivation for learning, student interest, cooperation) than in teaching CS core concepts. The same sample (Corradini et al, 2017b) struggled to give a sound and complete definition of CT, focusing on some crucial aspects like problem solving, mental processes, and logic, but often forgetting to refer in any way to an informationprocessing agent.…”

Section: Elements Of Ctmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational Thinking, Between Papert and Wing

Lodi

Martini

2021

Sci & Educ

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The pervasiveness of Computer Science (CS) in today’s digital society and the extensive use of computational methods in other sciences call for its introduction in the school curriculum. Hence, Computer Science Education is becoming more and more relevant. In CS K-12 education, computational thinking (CT) is one of the abused buzzwords: different stakeholders (media, educators, politicians) give it different meanings, some more oriented to CS, others more linked to its interdisciplinary value. The expression was introduced by two leading researchers, Jeannette Wing (in 2006) and Seymour Papert (much early, in 1980), each of them stressing different aspects of a common theme. This paper will use a historical approach to review, discuss, and put in context these first two educational and epistemological approaches to CT. We will relate them to today’s context and evaluate what aspects are still relevant for CS K-12 education. Of the two, particular interest is devoted to “Papert’s CT,” which is the lesser-known and the lesser-studied. We will conclude that “Wing’s CT” and “Papert’s CT,” when correctly understood, are both relevant to today’s computer science education. From Wing, we should retain computer science’s centrality, CT being the (scientific and cultural) substratum of the technical competencies. Under this interpretation, CT is a lens and a set of categories for understanding the algorithmic fabric of today’s world. From Papert, we should retain the constructionist idea that only a social and affective involvement of students into the technical content will make programming an interdisciplinary tool for learning (also) other disciplines. We will also discuss the often quoted (and often unverified) claim that CT automatically “transfers” to other broad 21st century skills. Our analysis will be relevant for educators and scholars to recognize and avoid misconceptions and build on the two core roots of CT.

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“…The project has adapted Code.org learning material and has introduced it to Italian schools with the support of a dedicated web site, featuring also an introduction to CT. Response has been enthusiastic in terms of participation: in the first two school-years (2014-15 and 2015-16) more than one million students have been engaged and have completed a total of 10 million hours of informatics in schools [6].…”

Section: Introduction 1contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptions and Misconceptions about Computational Thinking among Italian Primary School Teachers

Corradini¹,

Lodi

Nardelli

2017

Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research

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Many advanced countries are recognizing more and more the importance of teaching computing, in some cases even as early as in primary school. "Computational thinking" is the term often used to denote the conceptual core of computer science or "the way a computer scientist thinks", as Wing put it. Such term -given also the lack of a widely accepted definition -has become a "buzzword" meaning different things to different people. We investigated the Italian primary school teachers' conceptions about computational thinking by analyzing the results of a survey (N=972) conducted in the context of "Programma il Futuro" project. Teachers have been asked to provide a definition of computational thinking and to answer three additional related closed-ended questions. The analysis shows that, while almost half of teachers (43.4%) have included in their definitions some fundamental elements of computational thinking, very few (10.8%) have been able to provide an acceptably complete definition. On a more positive note, the majority is aware that computational thinking is not characterized by coding or by the use of information technology.

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Computational Thinking in Italian Schools

Cited by 60 publications

References 5 publications

Problem Solving Olympics: An Inclusive Education Model for Learning Informatics

Problem Solving Olympics: An Inclusive Education Model for Learning Informatics

Computational Thinking, Between Papert and Wing

Conceptions and Misconceptions about Computational Thinking among Italian Primary School Teachers

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