Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it fit? A systematic literary review

Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which everyone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour Papert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since Wing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international community's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in education. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and education researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the domain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist. Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work currently being done around the world in many different educational contexts, the work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create an agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of, or have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of education. It was also found that Computer Science/Computing, which could be the most obvious place to teach CT, has yet to become a mainstream subject in some countries, although this is improving. Of encouragement to educators is the wealth of tools and resources being developed to help teach CT as well as more and more work relating to curriculum development. For those teachers looking to incorporate CT into their schools or classes then there are bountiful options which include programming, hands-on exercises and more. The need for more detailed lesson plans and curriculum structure however, is something that could be of benefit to teachers

Trends in the Development of Basic Computer Education at Universities

Basic computer education in universities is experiencing huge problems. On the one hand, the amount of knowledge that a university graduate must have is increasing very quickly. On the other hand, the contingent of students varies greatly in terms of the level of training and motivation, and the level of this differentiation is constantly growing. As a result, the complexity of training and the percentage of dropouts increase. Scientists and educators are looking for a solution to these problems in the following areas: revising the knowledge necessary for obtaining at the university in the direction of the reality of their receipt in the allotted time; the use of new information technologies to simplify the learning process and improve its quality; development of the latest teaching methods that take into account the realities. This paper presents a strategic document in the field of computer education at universities - Computing Circulum 2020, as well as an overview of the areas of development of basic computer education, such as learning using artificial intelligence, virtual laboratories, microprocessor kits and robotics, WEB - systems for distance and blended learning, mobile application development, visual programming, gamification, computer architecture & organization, programming languages, learning technologies. In addition, the author gives his experience and vision of teaching basic computer education at universities

Game-Based Learning, Gamification in Education and Serious Games

The aim of this book is to present and discuss new advances in serious games to show how they could enhance the effectiveness and outreach of education, advertising, social awareness, health, policies, etc. We present their use in structured learning activities, not only with a focus on game-based learning, but also on the use of game elements and game design techniques to gamify the learning process. The published contributions really demonstrate the wide scope of application of game-based approaches in terms of purpose, target groups, technologies and domains and one aspect they have in common is that they provide evidence of how effective serious games, game-based learning and gamification can be

The Role of Self-Concept and Motivation Within the "Computational Thinking" Approach to Early Computer Science Education

Es gibt zunehmend Bemühungen, Informatik in die offiziellen Lehrpläne von Schulen zu integrieren oder in außerschulischen Angeboten zu unterrichten. Insbesondere Informatikbildung für jüngere Schülerinnen und Schüler folgt oft dem didaktischen Ansatz des informatischen Denkens, der den Schwerpunkt auf das Verständnis konzeptueller Grundlagen der Informatik und nicht auf die Benutzung bestimmter digitaler Anwendungen legt. Dabei ist neben der Förderung informatischer Fähigkeiten eines der häufigsten Ziele, bei Kindern Motivation und positives Selbstkonzept in Bezug auf Informatik zu fördern. Motivation und Selbstkonzept haben sich als wichtige Prädiktoren für den Bildungserfolg erwiesen, insbesondere in der Mathematik und den Naturwissenschaften. Da es jedoch an zuverlässigen Instrumenten zur Beurteilung von informatischem Selbstkonzept und Motivation fehlt, die für jüngere Schülerinnen und Schüler geeignet sind, wird nur selten empirisch evaluiert, ob Bildungsmaßnahmen in der Informatik das Ziel erreichen, diese wichtigen motivationalen Einstellungen zu fördern. Das Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es, diese Lücke zu schließen, indem untersucht wird, (1) wie Motivation und Selbstkonzept von Schülerinnen und Schülern in der frühen Informatikbildung zuverlässig erfasst werden können und (2) wie informatisches Denken so unterrichtet werden kann, dass informatisches Selbstkonzept und Motivation für Informatik bei Kindern gefördert werden. Diese Fragen werden in vier empirischen Studien untersucht, die von einer explorativen Pilotstudie zur Lehr-Lernmethoden für den Unterricht in informatischem Denken (Studie 1) über die schrittweise Entwicklung und Evaluierung eines Instruments zur Erfassung von Motivation und Selbstkonzept in der Informatik (Studien 2 und 3) bis hin zu einer hypothesengeleiteten, randomisierten kontrollierten Feldstudie reichen, in der ein strukturiertes Training in informatischem Denken für Grundschulkinder auf seine Wirksamkeit für die Förderung von Motivation und Selbstkonzept in der Informatik untersucht wird (Studie 4).As efforts for computer science education in elementary and secondary education are on the rise, there is an increasing number of efforts for integrating computing into official school curricula as well as extracurricular initiatives. Especially for elementary education, these efforts often follow the didactic approach of computational thinking, which places focus on the concepts, methods, and principles of computing rather than on specific technological applications. Aside from advancing students' computational abilities, one of the most common goals of these efforts is fostering motivation and a positive self-concept with regard to computing. Motivation and self-concept have been found to be important predictors for educational outcome, particularly in mathematics and the sciences. However, due to a lack of reliable instruments for assessing computing-related motivation and self-concept in younger students, it is rarely empirically evaluated whether computing education efforts are successful in reaching their goal to foster such important motivational dispositions. The aim of this dissertation is to address this gap by investigating (1) how student's motivation and self-concept can be assessed reliably within early computing education and (2) how computational thinking can be taught in a way that is motivating to elementary school students and beneficial for their self-concept. These questions are explored in four empirical studies, progressing from an exploratory pilot study on methods for teaching computational thinking (Study 1) to the incremental development and evaluation of an instrument for assessing programming-related motivation and self-concept (Studies 2 and 3) to a hypothesis-driven randomized controlled field trial examining the effectiveness of a structured multi-component computational thinking training for fostering programming-related motivation and self-concept (study 4)

Curriculum –Releasing Maths Anxiety with the Use of Robotics

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

STEAM Education in Ontario, Canada: A Case Study on the Curriculum and Instructional Models of Four K-8 STEAM Programs

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning and project-based learning are important educational initiatives in North America. However, it is important to consider whether current STEM educational practices are sufficient to prepare students for the world they are to live and work in. This prompts discussions about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) which is shifting educational paradigms towards art integration in STEM subjects. This study investigates the STEAM education reform movement in Canada to better understand the STEAM curriculum and instructional programs offered by non-profit organizations and publicly funded schools. This research study addresses the following major questions: 1) what curriculum and instruction models of STEAM education are implemented in non-profit and in-school contexts in Ontario, Canada? 2) What do students learn through different models of STEAM education? 3) What types of assessment of student learning is happening in STEAM education? 4) How do classroom teachers view such models of STEAM education in meeting their curriculum and instruction goals? To explore these questions, I took a small sample of four different STEAM programs in Ontario, Canada. I conducted interviews, observations, content analysis of curriculum documents and a focus group interview. At the four research sites, the main pedagogies used are design-based and inquiry-based models which focused on the students’ interests and encourages students to construct their own knowledge. Students learn character-building skills that empower them to solve real-world problems, develop perseverance and grit, engage in their community and develop a global perspective. The instructors/teachers describe the STEAM tasks at each site as rich and authentic experiences. The findings also suggest that sharing the learning in the STEAM program with the community extends the learning experiences to a wider community and contributes to the collective knowledge about how students learn. This study can inform teaching practices for teachers who seek to engage and motivate students by integrating the arts in STEM subjects. This study also promises to deepen the field’s understanding of STEAM education in Canada and to provide new insights into the practicality, affordances, and tensions of designing and implementing a STEAM program

Makers at School, Educational Robotics and Innovative Learning Environments

This open access book contains observations, outlines, and analyses of educational robotics methodologies and activities, and developments in the field of educational robotics emerging from the findings presented at FabLearn Italy 2019, the international conference that brought together researchers, teachers, educators and practitioners to discuss the principles of Making and educational robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education. The editors’ analysis of these extended versions of papers presented at FabLearn Italy 2019 highlight the latest findings on learning models based on Making and educational robotics. The authors investigate how innovative educational tools and methodologies can support a novel, more effective and more inclusive learner-centered approach to education. The following key topics are the focus of discussion: Makerspaces and Fab Labs in schools, a maker approach to teaching and learning; laboratory teaching and the maker approach, models, methods and instruments; curricular and non-curricular robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education; social and assistive robotics in education; the effect of innovative spaces and learning environments on the innovation of teaching, good practices and pilot projects

Serious Toys: Teaching Computer Science Concepts to Pre-Collegiate Students

Advancements in science and engineering have driven innovation in the United States for more than two centuries. The last several decades have brought to the forefront the importance of such innovation to our domestic and global economies. To continue to succeed in this information-based, technologically advanced society, we must ensure that the next generation of students are developing computational thinking skills beyond what was acceptable in past years. Computational thinking represents a collection of structured problem solving skills that cross-cut educational disciplines. There is significant future value in introducing these skills as early as practical in students\u27 academic careers. Over the past four years, we have developed, piloted, and evaluated a series of outreach modules designed to introduce fundamental computing concepts to young learners. Each module is based on a small embedded device a \u27serious toy\u27 designed to simultaneously engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners through lectures, visual demonstrations, and hands-on activities. We have piloted these modules with more than 770 students, and the evaluation results show that the program is having a positive impact. The evaluation instruments for our pilots consist of pre- and post-attitudinal surveys and pre- and post-quizzes. The surveys are designed to assess student attitudes toward computer science and student self-efficacy with respect to the material covered. The quizzes are designed to assess students\u27 content understanding. In this dissertation, we describe the modules and associated serious toys. We also describe the module evaluation methods, the pilot groups, and the results for each pilot study

Computing and Information Science

Cornell University Courses of Study Vol. 102 2010/201

Makers at School, Educational Robotics and Innovative Learning Environments

This open access book contains observations, outlines, and analyses of educational robotics methodologies and activities, and developments in the field of educational robotics emerging from the findings presented at FabLearn Italy 2019, the international conference that brought together researchers, teachers, educators and practitioners to discuss the principles of Making and educational robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education. The editors’ analysis of these extended versions of papers presented at FabLearn Italy 2019 highlight the latest findings on learning models based on Making and educational robotics. The authors investigate how innovative educational tools and methodologies can support a novel, more effective and more inclusive learner-centered approach to education. The following key topics are the focus of discussion: Makerspaces and Fab Labs in schools, a maker approach to teaching and learning; laboratory teaching and the maker approach, models, methods and instruments; curricular and non-curricular robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education; social and assistive robotics in education; the effect of innovative spaces and learning environments on the innovation of teaching, good practices and pilot projects