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

Web Science: expanding the notion of Computer Science

Academic disciplines which practice in the context of rapid external change face particular problems when seeking to maintain timely, current and relevant teaching programs. In different institutions faculty will tune and update individual component courses while more radical revisions are typically departmental-wide strategic responses to perceived needs. Internationally, the ACM has sought to define curriculum recommendations since the 1960s and recognizes the diversity of the computing disciplines with its 2005 overview volume. The consequent rolling program of revisions is demanding in terms of time and effort, but an inevitable response to the change inherent is our family of specialisms. Preparation for the Computer Curricula 2013 is underway, so it seems appropriate to ask what place Web Science will have in the curriculum landscape. Web Science has been variously described; the most concise definition being the ‘science of decentralized information systems’. Web science is fundamentally interdisciplinary encompassing the study of the technologies and engineering which constitute the Web, alongside emerging associated human, social and organizational practices. Furthermore, to date little teaching of Web Science is at undergraduate level. Some questions emerge - is Web Science a transient artifact? Can Web Science claim a place in the ACM family, Is Web Science an exotic relative with a home elsewhere? This paper discusses the role and place of Web Science in the context of the computing disciplines. It provides an account of work which has been established towards defining an initial curriculum for Web Science with plans for future developments utilizing novel methods to support and elaborate curriculum definition and review. The findings of a desk survey of existing related curriculum recommendations are presented. The paper concludes with recommendations for future activities which may help us determine whether we should expand the notion of computer science

LA BELLA FIGURA: MAKING A GOOD IMPRESSION WHEN TEACHING AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING TO NON-ENGINEERS

ABSTRACT This paper presents real and practical solutions to teaching an introductory course in programming to non-engineering students. It addresses the challenges and the potentials of making a good first impression in such a course, including the desire to fit everything into one quarter, the opportunity to encourage students to explore programming further, and the reality that students are looking for a useful tool for use in their respective fields. Specific suggestions and ideas for course content presentation, textbook selection, and course projects are presented that address these challenges

Introductory programming in higher education: A systematic literature review

A systematic literature review was performed on 33 papers obtained from the ACM, IEEE and Sciencedirect databases, in order to understand in depth, the introductory programming discipline (CS1) in higher education. Recently published works have been covered, providing an overview of the teaching-learning process of introductory programming and enabling to find out whether the research developed by universities worldwide is in line with the proposals made by ACM/IEEE-CS group for computer courses, regarding the transition to the competency-based model. The results show that the new techniques/technologies currently used in software development, as an example of agile methodology, has influenced the teaching-learning process of CS1 together with methods such as visual programming and e-learning. The analyzed papers discuss the importance of developing not only technical, but also social skills, corroborating that methodologies used in introductory programming courses need to focus on preparing students for an increasingly competitive market, associating new skills with technical aspects.This work is supported by CIEd – Research Centre on Education, Institute of Education, University of Minh

An Overview of the Learning and Teaching Strategies in Introductory Programming

Programmeerimist peetakse tänapäeval üheks olulisemaks, kuid ka keerulisemini omandatavaks oskuseks. Selle töö eesmärgiks on anda ülevaade programmeerimise algõppest nii õppimise kui ka õpetamise perspektiivist, tuvastada peamised õppimisel esinevad raskused ja edukust mõjutavad faktorid ning anda soovitusi sissejuhatavate programmeerimiskursuste parendamiseks.Today, programming is regarded as one of the most valuable, yet hardest skills to acquire. The purpose of the thesis is to provide an overview of introductory programming both from the perspectives of learning and teaching, also to map the main difficulties during the learning process and factors most influential towards a student’s success. The thesis aims to provide recommendations to improve introductory programming courses

Playing, Constructionism, and Music in Early-Stage Software Engineering Education

[EN] Understanding that design involves trade-offs, thinking at multiple levels of abstraction, and considering the cohesion and coupling between sub-components of a larger whole is an important part of software (and other) engineering. It can be challenging to convey such abstract design concepts to novice engineers, especially for materials that are themselves abstract (e.g. software). Such challenges are compounded when teaching at the secondary school stage where students have limited experience of large-scale design problems that motivate the need for abstraction at all. In this paper, we describe a method for introducing these concepts to secondary school students using LEGO® and Raspberry Pi computers, asking them to build musical instruments as an entertaining way of motivating engagement with learning about design through play. The method has been successfully piloted in a series of three classroom sessions and key observations and experiences of using the method are presented.This project received no external funding but was funded by the UCL Department of Computer Science Strategic Research FundGold, NE.; Purves, R.; Himonides, E. (2022). Playing, Constructionism, and Music in Early-Stage Software Engineering Education. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 9(1):14-38. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2022.1645314389