First year student performance in a test for computational thinking

Abstract

Computational thinking, a form of thinking and problem solving within computer science, has become a popular focus of research on computer science education. In this paper, we attempt to investigate the role that computational thinking plays in the experience of introductory computer science students at a South African university. To this end, we have designed and administered a test for computational thinking ability, and contrasted the results of this test with the class marks for the students involved. The results of this test give us an initial view of the abilities that students possess when entering the computer science course. The results indicate that students who performed well in the assessment have a favourable pass rate for their class tests, and specific areas of weakness have been identified. Finally, we describe the plan for a follow-up test to take place at the end of the course to determine how students' abilities have changed over a semester of studies.

Defining computational thinking framework for introductory programming in higher education

“…This section presents a brief description of related work with the focus on the frameworks and taxonomies that are applicable to higher education with the emphasis on CS domain. Gouws et al [7] defined a framework of six distinct skills and practices that served as the foundation for the assessment design, where the intervention was applied to introductory computer science course (CS1) students. Billion-niere [1] assessed CS1 students' comprehension within abstraction, arrays of objects, and inheritance.…”

Exploring Students' Computational Thinking Skills in Modeling and Simulation Projects

“…Our framework is concerned with the specific case of the use of the scientific method when experimenting means programming a model of a phenomenon and running simulations with it. The scientific method consist of the following steps: (1) asking a question, (2) doing background research into the relevant matter, (3) formulating a hypothesis, (4) testing the hypothesis through an experiment, (5) analyzing data and drawing a conclusion and finally (6) reporting the results. In our view, CT includes the steps 2 through 5.…”

“…In order to "create a profile of students' abilities in computational thinking" and "to determine whether there may be a link between computational thinking performance and success within the introductory computer science course" at their university, Gouws, Bradshaw and Wentworth [5] designed a test containing closed questions from the Computer Olympiad 'Talent Search'. The questions were categorized into the six distinct classifications of CT they recognized and focused on students' abilities in the lower three levels of Bloom's revised taxonomy.…”

Development and Evaluation of the Nebraska Assessment of Computing Knowledge

“…Existing tests of computational thinking and CS knowledge created for post-secondary students vary in the extent to which they use code within the test. On one end of the codeusage spectrum is the test built by Gouws et al (2013), which contains no computer code. It is a 25-item test of computational thinking skills with both multiple-choice and constructedresponse items that were sourced from retired versions of the South African Computer Olympiad "Talent Search" screening test.…”

“…The items themselves may have been evaluated when they were created for the screening test, but detailed information about the development and evaluation of the items is not available. The evaluation provided by Gouws et al (2013) does not include traditional test-level or item-level psychometric results such as internal consistency reliability, item difficulty, or item discrimination.…”