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Technology is rapidly changing the world around us and thus, there is a need to adjust education by teaching children skills that are required in the fast-paced digital life. One problem-solving skillset, which has gained considerable attention in the last couple of years, is computational thinking (CT). Up to now, many countries have already imple...
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... types of relationships can be visualized between the single classes, as, for example, aggregation, association, or generalization/inheritance. Figure 2 represents a generalization or inheritance of classes. The generalization relationship can be used to represent classes that have attributes and/or methods in common and is indicated with a blank arrow leading from the sub-class to the more general class. ...
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The growing movement to teach computer science and programming to all students is aimed at preparing students for a future that will require these skills in both Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers and non-STEM careers. Although introductory programming experiences are usually situated in easy-to-use and engaging block-...
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... In addition, we have identified a small number of cases where attempts have been made to integrate CT processes and skills into language courses [63,64]. Some of these have involved modelling [65,66] or even the production of computer games [67]. ...
... This is one of the most important reasons we formulated a test using data from both the Bebras competition and the related Computer Science Olympiad "Talent Search" of South Africa. In addition, some of the criteria that the questions of these competitions meet are to be independent of any program of study and to be answered in 3 to 4 min with pencil and paper or computer without having a unique solution [65,70,71]. ...
According to numerous researchers, a clear and direct correlation exists between Computational Thinking (CT) and courses falling under the purview of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), thereby advocating for the integration of CT into the curricula of STEM courses. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that only a few studies have scrutinized this correlation in-depth. Most such studies connect the correlation tacitly and predominantly concentrate on the empirical assessment of CT within the curriculum of one STEM discipline. This research seeks to evaluate the Computational Thinking abilities of 80 high school students in Greece and discern the extent of correlation with their academic performance in STEM and Greek language courses. A longitudinal survey was executed to accomplish this objective, commencing with administering a test designed to gauge the fundamental components of Computational Thinking. It is worth noting that this test draws its inspiration from internationally recognized computer competitions and serves as a credible assessment tool. Subsequently, an assessment was carried out to ascertain the degree of correlation between students’ Computational Thinking aptitude and their written performance in the subjects encompassed by the STEM category and the Greek language courses. The outcomes of this investigation revealed the presence of a statistically significant correlation between students’ Computational Thinking proficiency and their performance in these academic subjects, further extending to the academic direction of study chosen by the students. Based on the findings of this research, implications and pedagogical recommendations are delineated while concurrently acknowledging the limitations encountered during this study.
... Moreover, many teachers hold erroneous beliefs about how to develop computational thinking skills. This is a barrier to the development of the learners' skills (Knie, Standl, & Schwarzer, 2022;Reichert, Barone, & Kist, 2020;Rottenhofer, Sabitzer, & Rankin, 2021;Lye & Koh, 2014;Bower, Lister, Mason, Highfield, Kalelioglu et al., 2016). ...
The objective of the study was to investigate the problems and needs in the learning management of computational thinking among teachers at the lower secondary level in private schools in the province of Maha Sarakham, Thailand. This current study comprised 42 participants. The research tools were 1) questionnaires about problem situations in learning management for computational thinking and 2) recordings of group discussions. 1) The findings revealed that teachers had limited knowledge and understanding of learning management in computational thinking (xത = 2.43, S.D. = 0.44). In this regard, teachers believe that computational thinking is regarded as knowledge in addition to literacy, and they recognize that computational thinking, together with reading, writing, and calculating, is the cornerstone of learning in the 21st century. The best way to foster and develop teachers in teaching and learning computational thinking skills is through training and collaboration with the technology that should be used in teaching and learning computational thinking (i.e., computers, computer programs, smartphones, and multimedia). 2) Teachers indicated a strong need for self-improvement in terms of learning management in computational thinking (xത = 4, S.D. = 0.63). Through training, teachers want to improve their control of computational thinking. The development of learning management abilities that enhance computational thinking involves the following five steps: 1) Educating teachers; 2) Having a speaker or mentor instruct them in the creation of activities; 3) providing activities for teachers to practice together until proficiency is attained; 4) enabling each teacher to present the outcomes of the activities; and 5) teachers collectively summarizing the results of the activities.
... Computational thinking (CT) has been extensively integrated into the K-12 educational curriculum to establish a foundation for strong student performance and global sustainability in line with the Sustainable Development Goals for quality education [5,6]. Incorporating real-world applications and more hands-on project-based learning activities the combination of CT and language learning [8,12,28,29], and fewer still have applied CT to English writing [4,30]. Thus, this study addressed this research gap by developing an innovative teaching strategy for K-12 English writing derived from the conceptual model of CT. ...
Computational thinking (CT) skills are now a key part of everyday life and work, and CT has been incorporated into K-12 curricula worldwide. Combining the fundamental concepts of CT with English writing constitutes an innovative and sustainable learning strategy. However, few academic studies have examined the incorporation of CT into English writing. English writing frequently generates excessive stress and anxiety among students, yet motivation can mitigate the negative effect of anxiety. This study investigated the effects of the fundamental concepts of CT on reducing writing anxiety and increasing motivation toward English writing. A quasi-experimental design was applied, and data were collected from experimental and control groups through writing anxiety and motivation questionnaires. The results indicated that the fundamental concepts of CT exerted a more significant influence on the dimensions of writing anxiety and motivation than did a conventional learning method. In conclusion, the fundamental concepts of CT promoted organized and structured English writing, increased students’ writing motivation, and reduced their writing anxiety.
... With the use of these diagrams in a different context as a teaching and learning strategy, the authors reach several goals at once. Firstly, many years of implementation and research have shown that modeling with CS diagrams is a useful visualization strategy for learners of all ages, is easy to acquire for teachers and students, and is applicable in all subjects (Demarle-Meusel et al., 2020;Rottenhofer et al., 2021;Sabitzer & Pasterk, 2015). Secondly, learners get in contact with a repertoire of static and dynamic CS diagrams outside computer science lessons which may help them to familiarize themselves with this field, spark their interest, and introduce basic computer programming concepts. ...
After Jeanette Wing in 2006 described computational thinking (CT) as a fundamental skill for everyone just like reading or arithmetic, it has become a widely discussed topic all over the world. Computational thinking is a problem-solving skill set that is used to tackle problems in computer science. However, these skills, such as pattern recognition, decomposition, abstraction, generalization, and algorithmic thinking, are useful in other domains, as well. This study focuses on the use of CT skills to approach complex linguistic learning tasks in the foreign language classroom. To foster these problem-solving skills, an innovative method is used. The authors take advantage of computer science (CS) models (e.g. Unified Modeling Language – UML) and transform them into a teaching and learning tool. This paper describes the design and implementation of a survey used to detect students’ use of learning strategies that are linked to computational thinking. This survey is an instrument used in a multiple-case study and was administered at the beginning of the interventions. The participants of the study were learners of English and Spanish (n=66) from two secondary schools. Results indicated that the students were medium to low users of learning strategies that demand problem-solving skills related to computational thinking. Differences by gender were also found, with females reporting higher use of learning strategies than males. To conclude, the study showed a low use of strategies among students and highlighted the importance of introducing students to learning strategies and fostering skills needed for future professional life.
... The Modeling at School project aims at bringing two innovative issues to school practice. The first one is computer science modeling as a powerful tool and strategy for teachers and learners that can train 21st century skills like computational thinking, problem solving or creativity [13,14]. The second one, the educational pyramid scheme, is a new didactical concept that allows integrating this innovative method in a relatively short time to a broad audience [12]. ...
... These researchers consider that CT has a "multi-faceted theoretical nature" and can be considered more generally as an example of "models of thinking" (Li et al. 2020). Under this new light, CT is envisioned to have a broader role to play in education, from STEM-related disciplines (Li et al. 2020;Weintrop 2016;Peel et al. 2020), to languages (Rottenhofer et al. 2021), and transversal competences 1 such as "creative problem solving" (Grover et al. 2017;Chevalier et al. 2020). Some researchers thus consider CT to be one of the fundamental competences that every citizen must acquire in the 21st century (Li et al. 2020). ...
With the increasing importance of Computational Thinking (CT) at all levels of education, it is essential to have valid and reliable assessments. Currently, there is a lack of such assessments in upper primary school. That is why we present the development and validation of the competent CT test (cCTt), an unplugged CT test targeting 7-9 year-old students. In the first phase, 37 experts evaluated the validity of the cCTt through a survey and focus group. In the second phase, the test was administered to 1519 students. We employed Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to assess the instruments' psychometric properties. The expert evaluation indicates that the cCTt shows good face, construct, and content validity. Furthermore, the psychometric analysis of the student data demonstrates adequate reliability, difficulty, and discriminability for the target age groups. Finally, shortened variants of the test are established through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. To conclude, the proposed cCTt is a valid and reliable instrument, for use by researchers and educators alike, which expands the portfolio of validated CT assessments across compulsory education. Future assessments looking at capturing CT in a more exhaustive manner might consider combining the cCTt with other forms of assessments.
... This transversality can be achieved either by using CS content as a support for other disciplines [34,48] or by contributing to the development of transversal competencies. The above principle has motivated numerous researchers to investigate how CS, or Educational Robotics (often used as a medium to teach CS [16]) can be leveraged in various disciplinary contexts [8,20,32] such as maths [4,7,8,25,48], sciences [38,48], languages [42], or in the context of transversal skills such as creativity [50] and problem solving [10]. To the authors' knowledge, few have considered the teachers' perspective in such endeavours [9,20,31,48,50]. ...
With the introduction of Computer Science (CS) into curricula worldwide, researchers have investigated whether CS could be introduced transversally, as a support other disciplines. Few however consider both student learning and the teachers’ perspective in their assessments. In a co-constructive approach to translational research, we collaborated with teachers, in two case studies involving two classes each, to investigate how CS content could be used transversally. More specifically, teacher inputs and student learning data were combined in a mixed methods analysis to determine whether two CS Unplugged (CSU) activities from the curriculum could be leveraged to teach disciplinary content in primary school. The findings indicated that the CSU activities could be leveraged for maths and spelling, but require validation at a larger scale. More important, though, are the takeaways of the co-constructive experience with teachers. Interestingly the benefits of co-construction went both ways. While researchers gained a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of the activities, teachers i) appreciated having detailed student learning analyses, devoid of biases and impressions, ii) changed their perspective about researchers, and iii) were open to other collaborative research initiatives which they found to be drivers of change and innovation in their practice. The way co-construction was approached also impacted the teachers’ perception of their experience. Indeed, while one study was researcher-driven and included teachers, the other was teacher-driven and included researchers. When teacher-driven, the teachers felt they had a more active role, thus reflecting more on the study design, results and implications. Provided the positive impact that co-construction may have on innovation in teacher practices, different co-construction modalities must be investigated, as well as their implications on all stakeholders, including researchers.
... Previous studies on the use of modeling as a teaching and learning strategy have shown promising results [16]. In second language acquisition, in particular, experience has shown that modeling is a very useful tool [17][18]. These findings led to further and more intensive investigations in this specific area. ...
This study aims to explore an educational learning environment that supports students to learn conceptual modelling with the unified modelling language (UML). In this study, we call the describing models “UML programming.” In this chapter, we show an educational UML programming environment for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) related subjects, especially for Technology or Engineering in schools, which are able to apply from elementary school to university. At first, we explain why, what, and how doing the UML programming. In this study, we use a state machine diagram for UML programming. To draw this model, the students just put some states in rectangular shape and transitions in arrow shape. Two types of educational model notations in state machine diagram are introduced. Then, some advanced functions of the SRPS (Simple Rule Practice System) are described. They are an educational model editor, and management of users, learning tasks and models submitted by students. Next, two case studies with the SRPS are shown. One case study is adopted to the summer camp for 5th- and sixth-grade students. The participants were 20 students and were engaged in 4 hours workshop. We used a car-type robot with two DC motors, a one-touch sensor, and one infrared sensor connected to a micro:bit. The other case study is a formal technology class at one Japanese public junior high school. One teacher and five classes worked on UML programming for traffic lights. Each class had 20 ninth-grade students. One student at this school was given a traffic light robot with three Light-emitting diode (LED) lights, a one-touch sensor, and one infrared sensor connected to a micro:bit. Finally, on the basis of these two case studies using our environment, we discuss the potential for innovative STEAM education with UML programming.
With the increasing importance of Computational Thinking (CT) at all levels of education, it is essential to have valid and reliable assessments. Currently, there is a lack of such assessments in upper primary school. That is why we present the development and validation of the competent CT test (cCTt), an unplugged CT test targeting 7–9 year-old students. In the first phase, 37 experts evaluated the validity of the cCTt through a survey and focus group. In the second phase, the test was administered to 1519 students. We employed Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to assess the instruments’ psychometric properties. The expert evaluation indicates that the cCTt shows good face, construct, and content validity. Furthermore, the psychometric analysis of the student data demonstrates adequate reliability, difficulty, and discriminability for the target age groups. Finally, shortened variants of the test are established through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. To conclude, the proposed cCTt is a valid and reliable instrument, for use by researchers and educators alike, which expands the portfolio of validated CT assessments across compulsory education. Future assessments looking at capturing CT in a more exhaustive manner might consider combining the cCTt with other forms of assessments.
