scholarly journals Computational Thinking for a Computational World

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Angevine ◽  
Karen Cator ◽  
Jeremy Roschelle ◽  
Susan A. Thomas ◽  
Chelsea Waite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
American Education ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Smart Systems ◽  
Working Adults ◽  
Know How ◽  
Essential Question ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Computational Technology

Computers, smartphones, smart systems, and other technologies are woven into nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As computational technology advances, it is imperative that we educate young people and working adults to thrive in a computational world. In this context, the essential question for American education is: In a computational world, what is important to know and know how to do? This paper argues that computational thinking is both central to computer science and widely applicable throughout education and the workforce. It is a skillset for solving complex problems, a way to learn topics in any discipline, and a necessity for fully participating in a computational world. The paper concludes with recommendations for integrating computational thinking across K-12 curriculum.

Development of computational thinking with on-line practices in time of pandemic: a possible road?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilson Pereira dos Santos Júnior ◽  
Simone Lucena
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Know How ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
On Line

We live in a society in which mobile and digital technologies are increasingly present in our daily lives and we cannot limit ourselves to knowing how to use them. It is important to know how to adapt them, personalize them and program them, if necessary, to solve our problems. Computational thinking is understood as the human ability to teach, humans or machines, to solve problems with the fundamentals of computing. Its development has gained space in education, formal and non-formal, through face-to-face practices. With the pandemic, the challenge arises to develop this skill with young people from high school in a public educational institution through online practices. In this article, we discuss the didactic design, based on the principles of online education, created for the development of computational thinking with online practices. The preliminary results indicate the feasibility of developing computational thinking from the perspective of online education.

In and out of the School Activities Implementing IBSE and Constructionist Learning Methodologies by Means of Robotics

2013 ◽  
pp. 1068-1093
Author(s):  
G. Barbara Demo ◽  
Michele Moro ◽  
Alfredo Pina ◽  
Javier Arlegui
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Peer Education ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
School Resources ◽  
Educational Robotics ◽  
Content Areas ◽  
School Activities ◽  
K 12

In this chapter, the authors describe an inquiry-based science education (IBSE) theoretical framework as it was applied to robotics activities carried out in European K-12 classrooms during the last six years. Interactions between IBSE, problem-based learning, constructivist/constructionist learning theories, and technology are discussed. Example activities demonstrate that educational robotics capitalizes on the digital curiosity of young people. This leads to concrete experiences in STEM content areas and spreads computational thinking to all school types and levels. Cooperation among different stakeholders (students, teachers, scientific and disseminating institutions, families) is emphasized in order to exploit in and out of the classroom school resources, competencies, and achievements and for implementing peer-to-peer education among students and teachers in the same class/school or from different schools.

In and out of the School Activities Implementing IBSE and Constructionist Learning Methodologies by Means of Robotics

2012 ◽  
pp. 66-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Barbara Demo ◽  
Michele Moro ◽  
Alfredo Pina ◽  
Javier Arlegui
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Peer Education ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
School Resources ◽  
Educational Robotics ◽  
Content Areas ◽  
School Activities ◽  
K 12

In this chapter, the authors describe an inquiry-based science education (IBSE) theoretical framework as it was applied to robotics activities carried out in European K-12 classrooms during the last six years. Interactions between IBSE, problem-based learning, constructivist/constructionist learning theories, and technology are discussed. Example activities demonstrate that educational robotics capitalizes on the digital curiosity of young people. This leads to concrete experiences in STEM content areas and spreads computational thinking to all school types and levels. Cooperation among different stakeholders (students, teachers, scientific and disseminating institutions, families) is emphasized in order to exploit in and out of the classroom school resources, competencies, and achievements and for implementing peer-to-peer education among students and teachers in the same class/school or from different schools.

Educational Transformation through Online Learning: To Be or Not to Be

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G Picciano ◽  
Jeff Seaman ◽  
I. Elaine Allen
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Instructional Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Education ◽  
Institutional Mission ◽  
Educational Transformation ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Student Access ◽  
K 12

The purpose of this article is to examine online learning at the macro level in terms of its impact on American K-12 and higher education. The authors draw on six years of data that they have collected through national studies of online learning in American education as well as related research to do a critical and balanced analysis of the evolution of online learning in the United States and to speculate where it is going. Their collection of data represents some of the most extensive research examining online learning in the totality of K-20 education. Issues related to the growth of online learning, institutional mission, student access, faculty acceptance, instructional quality, and student satisfaction are explored. Of particular importance is an attempt to determine if online learning is in fact transforming American education in its essence and to speculate on the future.

Computational thinking in K-12 education. An insight through meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
José Miguel Merino-Armero ◽  
José Antonio González-Calero ◽  
Ramón Cózar-Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
K 12

scholarly journals Impact of lockdown and school closure on children in special schools: a single-centre survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000981
Author(s):  
Tapomay Banerjee ◽  
Amjad Khan ◽  
Piriyanga Kesavan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Single Centre ◽  
Special Schools ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Impact

Special schools play a significant role in the daily lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We explored the impact of the COVID-19-related first lockdown and resulting school closure by surveying parents whose children attended three special schools in Bedford, UK. We asked about anxiety and impact on emotional well-being and education. We received 53 responses from parents: 31 felt their child was more anxious during the lockdown period/school closure compared with beforehand and 42 felt their child’s emotional well-being had been affected. Children and young people attending special schools may have struggled both academically and emotionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparing Special Education Preservice Teachers to Teach Computational Thinking and Computer Science in Mathematics

2021 ◽  
pp. 088840642199237
Author(s):  
Emily C. Bouck ◽  
Phil Sands ◽  
Holly Long ◽  
Aman Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Mathematics Methods ◽  
K 12

Increasingly in K–12 schools, students are gaining access to computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS). This access, however, is not always extended to students with disabilities. One way to increase CT and CS (CT/CS) exposure for students with disabilities is through preparing special education teachers to do so. In this study, researchers explore exposing special education preservice teachers to the ideas of CT/CS in the context of a mathematics methods course for students with disabilities or those at risk of disability. Through analyzing lesson plans and reflections from 31 preservice special education teachers, the researchers learned that overall emerging promise exists with regard to the limited exposure of preservice special education teachers to CT/CS in mathematics. Specifically, preservice teachers demonstrated the ability to include CT/CS in math lesson plans and showed understanding of how CT/CS might enhance instruction with students with disabilities via reflections on these lessons. The researchers, however, also found a need for increased experiences and opportunities for preservice special education teachers with CT/CS to more positively impact access for students with disabilities.

scholarly journals Computational Thinking, Between Papert and Wing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lodi ◽  
Simone Martini
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Technical Content ◽  
Technical Competencies ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Affective Involvement

AbstractThe 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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