There is an increasing interest in the integration of computational thinking (CT) in the K-12 curriculum. By integrating CT into other disciplines, the aim is to equip students with essential skills ...to navigate domain-specific challenges. This study conducts a systematic review of 108 peer-reviewed scientific papers to analyze in which K-12 subjects CT is being integrated, learning objectives, CT integration levels, instructional strategies, technologies and tools employed, assessment strategies, research designs and educational stages of participants. The findings reveal that: (a) over two-thirds of the CT integration studies predominantly focus on science and mathematics; (b) the majority of the studies implement CT at the substitution level rather than achieving a transformation impact; (c) active learning is a commonly mentioned instructional strategy, with block-based languages and physical devices being frequently utilized tools; (d) in terms of assessment, the emphasis primarily lies in evaluating attitudes towards technology or the learning context, rather than developing valid and reliable assessment instruments. These findings shed light on the current state of CT integration in K-12 education. The identified trends provide valuable insights for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers seeking to effectively incorporate CT across various disciplines in a manner that fosters meaningful skill development with an interdisciplinary approach. By leveraging these insights, we can strive to enhance CT integration efforts, ensuring the holistic development of students' computational thinking abilities and promoting their preparedness for the increasingly interdisciplinary domains of digital world.
Science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been researched in many studies, yet little empirical evidence has been found to determine how this knowledge actually informs teachers’ ...actions in the classroom. To complement previous quantitative studies, there is a need for more qualitative studies to investigate the relationship between teacher knowledge (as formulated by the teacher) and classroom practice, especially in the context of an educational innovation. In this study we explored a possible way to investigate this relationship in an in-depth and systematic fashion. To this end, we conducted a case study with a chemistry teacher in the context of the implementation of a context-based science curriculum in The Netherlands. The teacher’s PCK was captured using the Content Representation form by Loughran, Mulhall, and Berry. We used an observation table to monitor classroom interactions in such a way that the observations could be related to specific elements of teachers’ PCK. Thus, we were able to give a detailed characterization of the correspondences and differences between the teacher’s personal PCK and classroom practice. Such an elaborate description turned out to be a useful basis for discussing mechanisms explaining the relationship between teachers’ knowledge and teachers’ actions.
Computational thinking (CT) is gaining attention in education as a part of digital literacy and can be addressed in several disciplines, including mathematics. Through the lens of Brennan and ...Resnick’s framework, we investigated how computational concepts, practices, and perspectives can be addressed in upper-secondary statistics lessons using spreadsheets through design-based research. Three classes of, in total, 58 16- to 17-year-old 11th-grade students explored several authentic real-life data sets in three 2-h sessions using spreadsheets. We evaluated the intervention by analyzing students’ workbooks, spreadsheet files, interviews, and questionnaires. The findings indicate that (1) students successfully engaged in computational concepts through using formulas, parameters, and conditional statements, (2) fruitfully applied data practices, and (3) demonstrated awareness of the relevance of CT for their everyday and future lives. These results highlight the potential of the use of spreadsheets in secondary school for developing computational thinking skills. Implications for further integration of CT in the mathematics curriculum are discussed.
Teaching algorithmic thinking enables students to use their knowledge in various contexts to reuse existing solutions to algorithmic problems. The aim of this study is to examine how students ...recognize which algorithmic concepts can be used in a new situation. We developed a card sorting task and investigated the ways in which secondary school students arranged algorithmic problems (Bebras tasks) into groups using algorithm as a criterion. Furthermore, we examined the students’ explanations for their groupings. The results of this qualitative study indicate that students may recognize underlying algorithmic concepts directly or by identifying similarities with a previously solved problem; however, the direct recognition was more successful. Our findings also include the factors that play a role in students’ recognition of algorithmic concepts, such as the degree of similarity to problems discussed during lessons. Our study highlights the significance of teaching students how to recognize the structure of algorithmic problems.
Bringing design practices to chemistry education is gaining interest with recent science curriculum reforms emphasising design, and calls for integrated STEM education. Design is a central practice ...in the chemistry discipline, and could foster meaningful chemistry education. Although chemistry teachers are key in bringing design to chemistry classrooms, and in realising design's potential for learning, little is known about their views on teaching and learning regarding design. To reduce this gap in literature, we explored chemistry teachers' pedagogical ideas in the context of a Dutch professional learning community on design in chemistry education. We elicited teachers' ideas through semi-structured interviews and lesson forms which teachers kept while implementing a design project. Multiple patterns emerged through analysing teachers' ideas. We found that the teachers did not see teaching design as a goal of chemistry education. Instead, teachers valued design as a teaching approach to engage students in applying chemistry concepts, in developing soft skills, and in applying or developing research practices. In this paper, we present more patterns in teachers' ideas, and discuss possible explanations of these findings in depth. Finally, we give suggestions for future research, and teacher professional development that may help support a change to bring design into chemistry education.
Multiple studies report that experienced instructors lack consensus on the difficulty of programming tasks for novices. However, adequately gauging task difficulty is needed for alignment: to select ...and structure tasks in order to assess what students can and cannot do.
The aim of this study was to examine perceived and observed difficulties that novice programmers endure during code composition.
This study reports on the in-depth research combining multi-faceted data from observations to students' perceptions via interviews, think aloud, task ranking and task rating.
Some interesting findings were observed which would not have been revealed through solution analysis on its own. For example, that nesting two loops is perceived as easier than nesting a selection in a loop and that the abstraction mechanism of an enhanced for loop makes it a particularly challenging concept to initially grasp.
Our results augment related work, which are primarily based on instructors' perceptions, providing insights into difficulties endured by novice programmers and recommendations for task (de)composition and curricular alignment.
Design‐based learning is considered a powerful way to help students apply and develop understanding of science concepts, but research has shown that the success of this approach is not a given. ...Examining students' understanding of science concepts in various design‐based learning contexts has thus continued to be an important field of research. To help advance such work, we explored the affordances of a novel analytic approach for studying data gathered in design‐based learning classrooms. We used the “chemical thinking framework,” specifically its “conceptual sophistication” dimension, to analyze 10th‐grade, chemistry students' design talk and drawings. We gathered this data during small‐group design planning and drawing activities in the classrooms of two teachers whose students were designing a product that harnesses chemical energy to change the temperature of a beverage or snack. The findings demonstrate that this analytic approach was able to reveal that students (implicitly) drew on their understanding of several chemistry concepts while designing. Moreover, it showed that students could use everyday as well as more sophisticated understandings regarding a given chemistry concept while designing. This study furthermore unveiled differences in what and how students' design talk and drawings may reveal use of conceptual understanding, and it showed that different student teams may use a unique combination of understandings during design planning and drawing. We describe how this study's analytic approach complements existing approaches in design‐based learning research, and how our findings provide implications for research and practice.
Recently, computational thinking (CT) has attracted much research attention, especially within primary and secondary education settings. However, incorporating in mathematics or other disciplines is ...not a straightforward process and introduces many challenges concerning the way disciplines are organised and taught in school. The aim of this paper is to identify what characterises CT in mathematics education and which CT aspects can be addressed within mathematics education. First, we present a systematic literature review that identifies characteristics of CT that have been explored in mathematics education research. Second, we present the results of a Delphi study conducted to capture the collective opinion of 25 mathematics and computer science experts regarding the opportunities for addressing CT in mathematics education. The results of the Delphi study, which corroborate the findings of the literature review, highlight three important aspects of CT to be addressed in mathematics education: problem solving, cognitive processes, and transposition.
Design activities are gaining interest as rich contexts for learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. STEM teachers may find this challenging however, as designing ...requires support that they are not used to providing. In a subject like chemistry, teachers would have to balance creativity and responsibility for the students with concept learning and safety in the classroom. In a case study, we analyzed the verbal interactions of three teachers with their students during design activities in the classroom, with the aim of understanding what teachers and students talk about and how chemistry teachers support the students with their designs. During the lesson, students worked on the design of a self-heating or self-cooling cup, while also performing chemistry experiments to learn about the energy effects of reactions. Such a lesson reflects what design activities in the chemistry classroom could look like. We described the topics that teachers and students talk about, revealing that teachers support students through several types of feedback and questions. We also found that teachers support design tasks in a more open, constructive, and encouraging way than is used for experiments and chemistry concepts, which are supported in a closed, clarifying, and steering manner.
Nowadays, mathematics teachers in K–12 strive to promote their students‘ mathematical knowledge and computational thinking (CT) skills. There is an increasing need for effective CT-embedded ...mathematics learning material and a better understanding of students’ views toward them. In this work, we present the results of a research study, which included the design of a six-lesson learning activity aimed at fostering 16- to 17-year-old secondary students’ CT skills in calculus lessons using the dynamic mathematics software
GeoGebra
. Our goal was to investigate how students experienced the CT-embedded calculus lessons with
GeoGebra
and what challenges they faced during their interaction with the learning material and software. We collected and analyzed data from students’ code in
GeoGebra
, workbooks, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires. Our findings suggest that most students mastered using CT concepts in calculus activities to a satisfactory degree and could reason about their computational solutions using
GeoGebra
and the generated graphs. Students’ understanding of the mathematical content knowledge introduced was essential to complete the lesson series successfully and unnoticed gaps in prior knowledge emerged. Our study shows that students appreciate the CT-embedded calculus lessons and
GeoGebra
’s exploratory approach to mathematics problems when provided with appropriate support. We conclude that an integrated approach to mathematics education and CT is viable and can contribute not only to fostering CT but also to increasing interest in mathematics.
PDF
