Computational thinking development through physical computing activities in STEAM education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Juškevičienė ◽  
Gabrielė Stupurienė ◽  
Tatjana Jevsikova
Keyword(s):  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Physical Computing ◽  
Steam Education

Integrating Computational Thinking and Mathematics

2022 ◽  
pp. 175-196
Author(s):  
Marja Bertrand ◽  
Immaculate Kizito Namukasa
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Learning Mathematics ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
Context Of Learning ◽  
And Mathematics

Globally, computational thinking and coding in schools has become more popular as well as a growing area of interest in education reform. Coupling coding with creative thinking promises to meaningfully engage students in their learning and to improve their coding and computational thinking skills. This prompts discussions about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), which promotes creativity and innovation through the integration of the arts in STEM subjects. This study addresses the following question: What mathematics and computational thinking do students learn through different models of STEAM education in non-profit and in-school contexts? A small sample was taken of four different STEAM programs in Ontario, Canada. We carried out a qualitative case study with 103 participants, 19 adults and 84 students. The findings from this study have implications for designing, implementing and researching K-8 STEAM programs that promote coding and computational thinking skills in the context of learning mathematics.

scholarly journals Motivating Teachers to Teach Computing in Middle School – A Case Study of a Physical Computing Taster Workshop for K-12 Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Von Wangenheim ◽  
Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim ◽  
Fernando S. Pacheco ◽  
Jean C. R. Hauck ◽  
Miriam Nathalie F. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Physical Computing ◽  
Computing Education ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Ongoing Support

Computing education in schools faces several problems, such as a lack of computing teachers and time in an already overloaded curriculum. A solution can be a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the teaching of computing within other subjects, creating the need to motivate teachers from other disciplines to teach computing in middle school. Therefore, the motivation and training of in-service teachers becomes crucial, as they need to have computing content and technological knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge. Yet, so far there exist very few training programs. Thus, as part of a comprehensive outreach program, we present a study on a one-day taster workshop for middle school teachers on physical computing education. Participants learn computer programming practice and computational thinking by programming an interactive robot. The workshop also approaches pedagogical aspects for teaching computing and technical issues regarding the installation and preparation of the required hardware/software. Preliminary results of its application with public school teachers in Florianopolis/Brazil are positive, motivating the majority of participants to introduce computing into their classes. However, our results also highlight that in order to enable teacher to apply the workshops effectively, longer training courses and ongoing support is required.

scholarly journals Drivers for the development of computational thinking in Costa Rican students

Comunicar ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (68) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karol Picado-Arce ◽  
Stefani Matarrita-Muñoz ◽  
Olmer Núñez-Sosa ◽  
Magaly Zúñiga-Céspedes
Keyword(s):  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
School Students ◽  
Physical Computing ◽  
Online Test ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Group A ◽  
Advanced Computing

This study provides evidence about factors that facilitate the development of computational thinking (CT) in Costa Rican elementary school students, including the description of the contribution of the LIE++ proposal that addresses CT knowledge and practices through programming and physical computing projects. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare a group of students from the LIE++ educational proposal with a group of students from another proposal called LIE-Guides, which emphasizes learning with digital technologies. The study sample comprised 14,795 voluntary students, who answered an online test that was constructed and validated to estimate the scores achieved in CT. The results showed that the students participating in the LIE++ proposal obtained better scores compared to the LIE-Guides group. A multilevel regression model demonstrated that students’ personal and social variables, as well as the proposal’s execution scheme, positively affected student learning in CT. This research is a first approach to the subject in this context. It refers to the importance of providing educational opportunities that focus on more advanced computing knowledge and skills, as well as the relevance of continuing to develop tools and methodologies that help generate evidence about CT in education in order to improve educational interventions. Este estudio proporciona evidencia sobre factores que facilitan el desarrollo del pensamiento computacional (PC) en estudiantes costarricenses de primaria, incluyendo el aporte de la propuesta de LIE++ que aborda conocimientos y prácticas del PC mediante proyectos de programación y computación física. Se utilizó un diseño cuasiexperimental para comparar un grupo de estudiantes de LIE++ con un grupo de estudiantes de otra propuesta llamada LIE-Guías que enfatiza aprendizajes con tecnologías digitales. En el estudio participaron 14.795 estudiantes, respondiendo voluntariamente una prueba en línea que se construyó y validó para estimar los puntajes alcanzados en PC. Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes participantes de LIE++ obtuvieron mejores puntajes en comparación con el grupo de LIE-Guías y mediante un modelo de regresión multinivel se identificaron que variables personales y sociales de los estudiantes y de la misma ejecución de la propuesta inciden en el favorecimiento de estos aprendizajes. Esta investigación es un primer acercamiento al tema en este contexto, que se refiere a la importancia de brindar oportunidades educativas que apunten a conocimientos y habilidades más avanzadas de la computación, así como a la relevancia de seguir desarrollando herramientas y metodologías que ayuden a generar evidencias sobre el PC en el ámbito educativo y así mejorar las intervenciones educativas.

Developing student’s computational thinking through graphic calculator in STEAM education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrienna Abdul Talib ◽  
Hassan Aliyu ◽  
Rainer Zawadzki ◽  
Marlina Ali
Keyword(s):  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Graphic Calculator ◽  
Steam Education
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document