Computational thinking en adaptieve technologie

Literatuur-/praktijkoverzicht waarin een korte indruk wordt gegeven van de state-of-the-art op de vlakken: computational thinking, Lego WeDo en adaptieve technologie

Challenges to Pedagogical Content Knowledge in lesson planning during curriculum transition: a multiple case study of teachers of ICT and Computing in England.

In September 2014 the new National Curriculum programmes of study for Computing became mandatory in England, replacing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a school subject and introducing Computer Science into schools. This posed a challenge for in-service ICT teachers without Computer Science subject knowledge: teachers needed to develop both subject and pedagogical knowledge to make the transition from teaching ICT to teaching Computing. This multiple case study explores teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum change and how they have responded in practical and pedagogical terms to planning lessons aligning with the new programmes of study. Nine teachers participated, each of whom had been teaching ICT pre-2014. The study used semi-structured interview questions while teachers engaged in lesson-planning activities, captured mostly using desktop-sharing via internet telephony. A modified version of Shulman’s pedagogical reasoning framework and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) facilitated analysis of teachers’ pedagogic practices in lesson planning. The study shows teachers’ concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding the curriculum change, and the lack of access to suitable professional development (CPD). Most highlighted the primacy of programming and Computer Science at the expense of Information Technology and Digital Literacy, the other two strands of the new curriculum. The study also shows the dynamic nature of lesson planning. Knowledge deficits slowed down the fluency of teachers’ lesson-planning processes, but the use of lesson materials created by others helped them to develop PCK. The term transitional pedagogical reasoning has been used to describe the process by which unfamiliar but necessary concepts are assimilated into the pedagogical reasoning process while the teacher develops sufficient subject knowledge and PCK. Recommendations have been made for Computing curriculum policies to recognise and promote Computing pedagogy. This understanding should underpin initial teacher education in Computing, CPD for in-service teachers, and strategic development of the subject in the longer term

Social Addictive Gameful Engineering (SAGE): A Game-based Learning and Assessment System for Computational Thinking

At an unrivaled and enduring pace, computing has transformed the world, resulting in demand for a universal fourth foundation beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic: computational thinking (CT). Despite increasingly widespread acceptance of CT as a crucial competency for all, transforming education systems accordingly has proven complex. The principal hypothesis of this thesis is that we can improve the efficiency and efficacy of teaching and learning CT by building gameful learning and assessment systems on top of block-based programming environments. Additionally, we believe this can be accomplished at scale and cost conducive to accelerating CT dissemination for all. After introducing the requirements, approach, and architecture, we present a solution named Gameful Direct Instruction. This involves embedding Parsons Programming Puzzles (PPPs) in Scratch, which is a block-based programming environment currently used prevalently in grades 6-8. PPPs encourage students to practice CT by assembling into correct order sets of mixed-up blocks that comprise samples of well-written code which focus on individual concepts. The structure provided by PPPs enable instructors to design games that steer learner attention toward targeted learning goals through puzzle-solving play. Learners receive continuous automated feedback as they attempt to arrange programming constructs in correct order, leading to more efficient comprehension of core CT concepts than they might otherwise attain through less structured Scratch assignments. We measure this efficiency first via a pilot study conducted after the initial integration of PPPs with Scratch, and second after the addition of scaffolding enhancements in a study involving a larger adult general population. We complement Gameful Direct Instruction with a solution named Gameful Constructionism. This involves integrating with Scratch implicit assessment functionality that facilitates constructionist video game (CVG) design and play. CVGs enable learner to explore CT using construction tools sufficiently expressive for personally meaningful gameplay. Instructors are enabled to guide learning by defining game objectives useful for implicit assessment, while affording learners the opportunity to take ownership of the experience and progress through the sequence of interest and motivation toward sustained engagement. When strategically arranged within a learning progression after PPP gameplay produces evidence of efficient comprehension, CVGs amplify the impact of direct instruction by providing the sculpted context in which learners can apply CT concepts more freely, thereby broadening and deepening understanding, and improving learning efficacy. We measure this efficacy in a study of the general adult population. Since these approaches leverage low fidelity yet motivating gameful techniques, they facilitate the development of learning content at scale and cost supportive of widespread CT uptake. We conclude this thesis with a glance at future work that anticipates further progress in scalability via a solution named Gameful Intelligent Tutoring. This involves augmenting Scratch with Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) functionality that offers across-activity next-game recommendations, and within-activity just-in-time and on-demand hints. Since these data-driven methods operate without requiring knowledge engineering for each game designed, the instructor can evolve her role from one focused on knowledge transfer to one centered on supporting learning through the design of educational experiences, and we can accelerate the dissemination of CT at scale and reasonable cost while also advancing toward continuously differentiated instruction for each learner

Desarrollo del pensamiento computacional en Educación Infantil mediante escenarios de aprendizaje con retos de programación y robótica educativa

[ES] Actualmente una de las iniciativas que ha irrumpido con gran fuerza en los entornos educativos consiste en promover la implementación de prácticas pedagógicas que favorezcan el desarrollo de las nuevas alfabetizaciones (código-alfabetización), habilidades digitales (pensamiento computacional) y fomenten comportamientos sociales positivos en estudiantes desde las primeras etapas escolares. En este sentido, la presente investigación tiene como propósito el diseño e integración de actividades educativas basadas en escenarios de aprendizaje, con retos de programación y robótica educativa, orientados a escolares de educación infantil. Inicialmente, se realizó una revisión teórica sobre las nuevas alfabetizaciones para el siglo XXI y la influencia que presentan tecnologías como la robótica educativa en el fomento de los nuevos aprendizajes y formas de pensamiento. Para alcanzar el objetivo propuesto se organizaron dos estudios bajo un enfoque cuantitativo y un diseño cuasiexperimental con medidas pretest/postest, en dos casos contando con grupo control. A los datos que fueron recolectados se les realizó análisis de tipo estadístico y se obtuvieron resultados con diferencias significativas a favor de los estudiantes que participaron en las actividades de aprendizaje, en comparación con aquellos que no lo hicieron. Además, se encontró que las actividades propuestas fomentaron habilidades sociales y comportamientos positivos entre los estudiantes. Igualmente, los participantes manifestaron un marcado interés y motivación con respecto al recurso de robótica educativa y las actividades de aprendizaje. Finalmente, la información que se generó en esta investigación representa una contribución a la base de conocimiento científico que existe sobre el aprendizaje y desarrollo del pensamiento computacional en etapas educativas tempranas

Challenges to Pedagogical Content Knowledge in lesson planning during curriculum transition: a multiple case study of teachers of ICT and Computing in England

In September 2014 the new National Curriculum programmes of study for Computing became mandatory in England, replacing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a school subject and introducing Computer Science into schools. This posed a challenge for in-service ICT teachers without Computer Science subject knowledge: teachers needed to develop both subject and pedagogical knowledge to make the transition from teaching ICT to teaching Computing. This multiple case study explores teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum change and how they have responded in practical and pedagogical terms to planning lessons aligning with the new programmes of study. Nine teachers participated, each of whom had been teaching ICT pre-2014. The study used semi-structured interview questions while teachers engaged in lesson-planning activities, captured mostly using desktop-sharing via internet telephony. A modified version of Shulman’s pedagogical reasoning framework and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) facilitated analysis of teachers’ pedagogic practices in lesson planning. The study shows teachers’ concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding the curriculum change, and the lack of access to suitable professional development (CPD). Most highlighted the primacy of programming and Computer Science at the expense of Information Technology and Digital Literacy, the other two strands of the new curriculum. The study also shows the dynamic nature of lesson planning. Knowledge deficits slowed down the fluency of teachers’ lesson-planning processes, but the use of lesson materials created by others helped them to develop PCK. The term transitional pedagogical reasoning has been used to describe the process by which unfamiliar but necessary concepts are assimilated into the pedagogical reasoning process while the teacher develops sufficient subject knowledge and PCK. Recommendations have been made for Computing curriculum policies to recognise and promote Computing pedagogy. This understanding should underpin initial teacher education in Computing, CPD for in-service teachers, and strategic development of the subject in the longer term

Computational thinking skills in dutch secondary education : Poster-session

Contains fulltext : 122394.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)WiPCSE 2013 : The 8th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education November 11-13, 2013 Aarhus, DenmarkAarhus : [S.n.