Advances in Conceptualizing, Developing, and Assessing Computational Thinking (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Case Study on How Children Develop Computational Thinking Collaboratively with Robotics Toys
International Journal of Educational Technology and Learning
This article reports on a case study on how robotics toys provide the affordances for developing computational thinking (henceforth abbreviated to CT) in young learners. The three key constructs of CT-abstraction, algorithms and automation-are used in the research. The study results identify how children interact with robotics toys collaboratively and acquire CT skills. Problems were presented to the children through planned nonroutine and immersive collaborative group activities. The Situations in which they externalised their inquiries and internalised new knowledge were observed. A detailed examination of the data collected was made to determine which robotics toys mediated the children's acquisition while seamlessly switching between individual and collaborative activities and has led to the development of a framework of the stages in CT learning designs. This paper synthesises the relevant classroom activity designs in addressing CT as a general term that involves solving problems, entails a whole set of mental tools that enable people to reduce complex problems into readily solvable subtasks and composes algorithms that are executable by machines. Moreover, the article will also include details and analyses of the selection of commercially available technologies for developing CT in the young learners in the study.
THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, ENVIRONMENT, AND EDUCATION
Computational Thinking is introduced as a problem-solving ability that is important for future generations to master. The mastery of computational thinking skills from an early age prepares children to anticipate competition and pursue success in the future. Robotics devices are widely advocated as interactive learning media to facilitate Computational Thinking development. Educational robotics have grown from ideas that represent critical stages of Computational Thinking. The application of robotics in teaching computational thinking skills is increasingly used and is evident in the literature. The paper reviews the development of an innovative robotics device in facilitating understanding of computational thinking in young children in terms of several aspects of computational thinking indicators. A review was also conducted to see the advantages and disadvantages of commercially available robotics devices. This paper was prepared by applying critical analysis methods to the literature published from 1952 to 2017 in international journals and proceedings. As a recommendation for future research, this paper proposes for an educational robotic development that facilitates the of computational thinking skills, especially for early childhood education.
The Influence of Educational Robotics to Computational Thinking Skill in Early Childhood Education
2018
Computational Thinking (CT) has been becoming prominent in educational literature for its appeal as an alternative for problem-solving. The teaching of CT skill in secondary and higher education, however, remains the focus of scholarly research in the mainstream databases. A literature review was carried out to examine the use of robots and computational thinking skill in childhood. Three different databases and digital libraries were nominated for their vast number of papers and the wide coverage of readership. Specific keywords applied in the literature analysis were computational thinking and educational robotics to early childhood. This paper amasses the understanding of the impact CT on education suggested in the literature. The discussion section elaborates the advantage of educational robotics to improve CT skill, various means CT achievement assessment and adoption robotics to improve learning pertinent to early childhood education. Finally, the paper proposes the importance...
Computational Thinking Initiation. An experience with robots in Primary Education
Journal of Research in Science Mathematics and Technology Education
Computational Thinking (CT) is an increasingly interesting educational trend, since it is currently thought that the next generation will need to master this skill in order to succeed in modern life. At the same time, research indicates that motivation is a key element that affects the effectiveness of educational processes. Consequently, educators should take into account this fact when designing teaching sequences. In this paper, we present a robotics-based instruction for third-grade students aimed at introducing computational thinking ideas. The experience was carried out with 63 students. An assessment of different indicators concerning learning outcomes, such as mental rotation or computation thinking gains, was performed. In particular, from a motivational perspective, a test developed by Keller (1983; was employed in order to assess four dimensions: attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction. Results show the participants' high motivation after working with robot computational ideas. These results may eventually support the use of educational robotics in order to promote students' development of computational thinking in primary schools.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2023
The present study investigates the debugging process of 526 children in preschool (4-6 aged) when programming a tangible robot. When a child is involved in programming, it is needed to identify and correct errors, or in other words, debug a program. Debugging is a high-level thinking skill and is an essential component closely related to developing Computational Thinking in early childhood education. Though the debugging process is a cognitive function in programming investigated by many researchers in recent decades, most studies are conducted either in primary, secondary education, or higher education concerning beginners or experts in programming. Very few reviews, and some focus on preschool education. Our study set out the following objectives: 1) How do children identify the existence of error and locate it? 2) What types of errors emerge when coding? 3) What type of error is complex for novice programmers? 4) What strategies are developed by novice programmers to debug effectively? and 5) What types of knowledge do novice programmers construct by debugging the tangible robot Bee-Bot? The study follows an iterative model of a design-based research approach. It uses multiple case studies to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The programming intervention was implemented by 30 educators in their classrooms and was based on a scenario-based teaching design. The debugging process was analysed using Klahr & Craven's framework (1988): 1) test and evaluate program, 2) identify bug, 3) represent program, 4) locate bug and 5) correct bug. The main finding is the construction and development of syntactic and semantic knowledge.
Development of Computational Thinking Skills through Educational Robotics
2018
Computational thinking (CT) is an important concept in modern education. The scientific community is not only investigating the skills involved in CT but, is also trying to establish how these skills can be developed and through what technological means. Meanwhile, a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of educational robotics (ER) as technological means which can support the development of CT but, issues of measurement of CT (i.e., using validated instruments) seem to hinder the validity of these investigations. In this paper, two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to address students’ CT gains linked to their participation in ER activities. The first study was conducted at a primary school in the Eastern Mediterranean; 15 consented students participated in ER activities for five weeks. The second study included 16 students in a secondary school in the same region, who participated in ER activities for three months. Quantitative results, based on a valid measure o...
International Journal of STEM Education
Background Educational robotics (ER) is increasingly used in classrooms to implement activities aimed at fostering the development of students’ computational thinking (CT) skills. Though previous works have proposed different models and frameworks to describe the underlying concepts of CT, very few have discussed how ER activities should be implemented in classrooms to effectively foster CT skill development. Particularly, there is a lack of operational frameworks, supporting teachers in the design, implementation, and assessment of ER activities aimed at CT skill development. The current study therefore presents a model that allows teachers to identify relevant CT concepts for different phases of ER activities and aims at helping them to appropriately plan instructional interventions. As an experimental validation, the proposed model was used to design and analyze an ER activity aimed at overcoming a problem that is often observed in classrooms: the trial-and-error loop, i.e., an o...
Educational Robots and Computational Thinking
In 1969 Seymour Papert developed the idea of Logo programming and Turtle robots. His thesis was that people learn according to the mental models available to them. He envisioned the potential of the computer to make students active learners, constructors of their own knowledge through the process of programming. The floor Turtles are devices the students can program and use to explore ideas and the world around them. The Logo approach was not simply writing code, it was about developing a student's thinking skills, problem solving and other sustainable learning traits. A 2006 seminal paper by Jeannette Wing prompted renewed interest in what is now called computational thinking. This paper examines this new perspective and how they relate to the theory and practical use of Turtle type educational robots.
Conceptual model of computational thinking through educational robotics
AIP Conference Proceedings
Computational thinking (CT) is useful in daily problem-solving process while educational robotic (ER) is well known as a pedagogical tool in attracting students to learn more in problem solving activities. Both subjects are widely used for formal learning and informal learning regardless of the age and gender of the learners. Both also have big scope. However, there is lack of studies in integrating CT into ER. Thus, nurturing CT through ER remain a challenge. This study focuses on designing a conceptual model of the integration between CT and ER. Validity and reliability are crucial for research trustworthiness. Thus, grounded theory analysis (GTA) is used to analyze the CT concept and ER development from various sources such as the literature, book, discussion and web of contents to make the model more effective, fit, relevance, workability and modifiability. The finding represents a conceptual model that detail out the relationship between CT and ER besides giving benefits to community who are planning, designing, or revising new framework or platform in nurturing CT through ER.