Computational thinking: an investigation of the existing scholarship and research

2013 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Despite the prevalence of computing and technology in our everyday lives and in almost every discipline and profession, student interest and enrollment in computer science courses is declining. In response, computer science education in K-12 schools and universities is undergoing a transformation. Computational thinking has been proposed as a universal way of thinking with benefits for everyone, not just computer scientists. The focus on computational thinking moves beyond computer literacy, or the familiarity with software, to a way of thinking that benefits everyone. Many see computational thinking as a way to introduce students to computer science concepts and ways of thinking and to motivate student interest in computer science. The first part of this dissertation describes a study in which the researcher systematically examined the literature and scholarship on computational thinking since 2006. The aim was to explore nature and extent of the entire body of literature and to examine the theory and research evidence on computational thinking. Findings reveal that there has been a steady increase in the popularity of the concept of computational thinking, but it is not yet developed to the point where it can be studied in a meaningful way. An examination of the research evidence on computational thinking found inadequacies in the conceptual characteristics and the reporting of studies. Weaknesses were identified in the theoretical conceptualization of interventions, definitions of key concepts, intervention descriptions, research designs, and the presentation of findings. Recommendations for bolstering the research evidence around this burgeoning concept are presented, including collaboration between computer scientists and educational researchers to apply social science research methods to conduct robust studies of computational thinking interventions. The second part of this dissertation describes how computational thinking is currently incorporated into K-12 educational settings. The bulk of the literature on computational thinking describes ways in which programs promote this way of thinking in students. The K-12 programs that encourage computational thinking are classified, described, and discussed in a way that is intended to be meaningful for K-12 educators and educational researchers. Potential barriers and factors that might enable educators to use each category of interventions are discussed

The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. school system has disregarded differences within STEM fields. Indeed, the most important STEM field for a modern economy is not only one that is not represented by its own initial in "STEM" but also the field with the fewest number of high school students taking its classes and by far has the most room for improvement—computer science

INVESTIGATING FACTORS PREDICTING EFFECTIVE LEARNING IN A CS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR K-12 TEACHERS

The demand for K-12 Computer Science (CS) education is growing and there is not an adequate number of educators to match the demand. Comprehensive research was carried out to investigate and understand the influence of a summer two-week professional development (PD) program on teachers’ CS content and pedagogical knowledge, their confidence in such knowledge, their interest in and perceived value of CS, and the factors influencing such impacts. Two courses designed to train K-12 teachers to teach CS, focusing on both concepts and pedagogy skills were taught over two separate summers to two separate cohorts of teachers. Statistical and SWOT analyses were then performed using measures such as attitudinal surveys and knowledge assessments. Findings showed the PD program had a significant impact on the teachers, there was a positive correlation between teachers’ pre-program confidence and knowledge, and additional insights on how to deliver such PD programs more effectively. Results will help inform K-12 CS PD program design. Advisor: Leen-Kiat So

The Effectiveness of Codesters in Teaching Basic Computer Science Topics

Founded in 2014, Codesters is a visual programming environment (VPE) like the popular Scratch and Alice. Its goal is to teach middle school and older student’s computer programming. Unlike its predecessors, users of Codesters drag and drop actual Python code instead of blocks and can edit the code themselves. Codesters has also developed modules that integrate coding lessons into the VPE. In this study, we consider the Codesters Python 1 module and investigate its effectiveness in teaching the basic coding concepts of variables, loops and conditionals. During Fall 2018 and Spring 2019, we ran a coding class for eighth graders at a local Milwaukee school based on this module. We gave a pre-test, three quizzes and a post-test to evaluate what the students have learned. We then analyzed the results of these evaluations and compared them to those taken by students who learned programming in a traditional CS1 class. Our results indicate that users of Codesters understood loops and conditionals as well as the students from the traditional CS1 class. We also found that the pre-test was a poor indicator of students’ performance in the coding class suggesting that Codesters is able to engage students who might not necessarily excel in a traditional classroom

An Examination of Abstraction in K-12 Computer Science Education

Computer scientists have been working towards a common definition of abstraction; however, the instruction and assessment of abstraction remain categorically underresearched. Because abstraction is often cited as a component of computational thinking, abstraction has been summarily likened to a higher order thinking skill. A broad conceptual framework including philosophy, psychology, constructionism, and computational thinking was aligned with the descriptive qualitative design and guided the literature review and data analysis. This qualitative examination of how teachers determine curriculum, deliver instruction, and design assessments in K-12 computer science education provides insight into best practices and variables for future quantitative study. The instructional strategies, objectives, and assessments of twelve K-12 computer science teachers from 3 states were examined in this descriptive qualitative examination of instruction using thematic coding analysis. The majority of teachers had little to no professional development regarding teaching abstraction. All teachers in the study were unsure what student abstraction abilities should be according to grade level. Teachers\u27 understanding of abstraction ranged from very little knowledge to very knowledgeable. The majority of teachers did not actively assess abstraction. Teachers described successfully teaching abstraction through multiple instructional practices and spiraling curriculum. Practical descriptive insights illuminate additional variables to research the instruction of abstraction qualitatively and quantitatively, as well as provide anecdotal instructional successes

Coding as a Literacy Practice in Adult Learning Communities

This study considered how computing courses for adult learners might be customized to effectively address their reasons for learning to read and write computer code. The view of coding as a literacy practice is the key theme in this study. Street’s (2006) ideological model of literacy along with the perspective of computational participation, are theoretical models used to explore coding as a literacy practice (Kafai & Burke, 2017). Through the vehicle of action research, this study focused on analyzing the delivery of an introductory web languages coding course for female immigrants. This study drew from both the student and teacher perspectives. The study used student feedback collected from online class survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study also incorporated the teacher’s field notes, a course summary report, and the Teaching Perspectives Inventory survey results (Collins & Pratt, 2011). Findings from this study include these areas of insights: 1) students’ views on the benefits of learning coding, 2) the language and communication challenges students faced, and 3) an overview of some effective teaching tools and approaches. Based on these findings, there is a discussion that considered possible issues related to student engagement in learning web language coding. Included are sections on implications for practice and future research

Cyberscience Undergraduate Faculty and School Official Perspectives of the Innovation and Implementation of Curriculum for Inclusion

AbstractA disproportionate number of European American male students are enrolled in cyberscience undergraduate degree programs, despite attempts to attract diverse student populations in the field. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to gain a better understanding on how cyberscience academic experts perceive the challenges related to the disproportionate number of European American male students enrolled in cyberscience degree programs nationwide and how to attract college students from diverse backgrounds for cyberscience programs. Using Rogers’s diffusion of innovation, the research questions explored cyberscience academic expert perceptions of the challenges of enrollment in cyberscience programs and attracting students from diverse backgrounds. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit individuals who met the definition of academic experts in cyberscience and with knowledge of the challenges posed by the disproportionate number of European American male students in the cyberscience field. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with eight participants. Data were analyzed using a priori and open coding of interview transcripts. Four conclusions can be drawn from the findings: all experts agree that diversity is needed in the field and that higher education has an important role in bringing about diversity, more workers are needed in the United States, several academic experts do not see cyberscience curriculum as appropriate to address the need for more diversity, and there is a consensus that properly briefed and informed college and university enrollment teams do have a key role in bringing about this needed diversity. Positive social change may occur because the findings could inform university officials on how to attract diverse populations, thereby increasing inclusion in this field while addressing the job shortage

Cyberscience Undergraduate Faculty and School Official Perspectives of the Innovation and Implementation of Curriculum for Inclusion

AbstractA disproportionate number of European American male students are enrolled in cyberscience undergraduate degree programs, despite attempts to attract diverse student populations in the field. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to gain a better understanding on how cyberscience academic experts perceive the challenges related to the disproportionate number of European American male students enrolled in cyberscience degree programs nationwide and how to attract college students from diverse backgrounds for cyberscience programs. Using Rogers’s diffusion of innovation, the research questions explored cyberscience academic expert perceptions of the challenges of enrollment in cyberscience programs and attracting students from diverse backgrounds. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit individuals who met the definition of academic experts in cyberscience and with knowledge of the challenges posed by the disproportionate number of European American male students in the cyberscience field. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with eight participants. Data were analyzed using a priori and open coding of interview transcripts. Four conclusions can be drawn from the findings: all experts agree that diversity is needed in the field and that higher education has an important role in bringing about diversity, more workers are needed in the United States, several academic experts do not see cyberscience curriculum as appropriate to address the need for more diversity, and there is a consensus that properly briefed and informed college and university enrollment teams do have a key role in bringing about this needed diversity. Positive social change may occur because the findings could inform university officials on how to attract diverse populations, thereby increasing inclusion in this field while addressing the job shortage