First-year engineering students' computational reasoning abilities

Computational thinking is an essential skill set for today's students, given the digital age in which we live and work (CT). Without a precise definition, it is generally understood to be a collection of abilities and attitudes required to deal with difficulties in any aspect of life, whether or not a computer is involved. Measurement and evaluation of students' progress in CT abilities are critical, and this can only be done using instruments that have been tested and shown to work before. New students at the Basque Country's University of the Basque Country's Engineering Degrees are tested for critical thinking, algorithmic thinking, problem solving, cooperation and creativity using a previously proven tool.

A Brief Discussion on Incentives and Barriers to Computational Thinking Education

The idea that computational thinking or algorithmic thinking should be taught to everyone dates back to the 1960s. First in 1960s, Alan Perlis argued that computer programming should be taught to everyone because it can be used as a mental tool for understanding and solving every kind of problem. In 1980s, under the leadership of Seymour Papert, students at the level of primary education were attempted to be taught LOGO programming language with the aim of gaining procedural thinking skill. After the publication of Jeannette Wing's “computational thinking” in Communications of the ACM in 2006, the idea that the basic concepts of computer science should be learned by all was started to be debated widely again. In the present paper, the justifications for teaching computational thinking and applicability of teaching computational thinking within the context of existing conditions will be discussed.

Assessing Algorithmic Thinking Skills in Early Childhood Education

This chapter presents part of a wider project aimed at developing computational thinking assessment instruments for first and second grade primary school students. The applicability of the specific proposed tool, which concerns merely the algorithmic thinking (AT), was tested within the Environmental Study course (ESc). The main pillar of the work is the computational environment PhysGramming. The assessment of AT was based on mental tasks involving puzzles which require AT abilities. The AT test comprised of four puzzles with 4, 6, 9, and 12 pieces respectively, and the puzzle-solving performance was measured at the nominal level (success/failure). Latent class analysis (LCA), a robust multivariate method for categorical data, was implemented, which distinguished two clusters/latent classes corresponding to two distinct levels of AT. Moreover, LCA with covariates, such as gender, grade, achievement in ESc, and the use of plan revealed the association of the above variables with the AT skill-levels. Finally, the results and their implications for theory and practice are discussed.

INTERCONNECTION OF INFORMATICS AND MATHEMATICS IN SCHOOL AT AN EARLY STAGE OF STUDY

The relevance of the chosen research topic is to highlight the issue related to the formation of algorithmic thinking in primary school students in computer science lessons. The aim of the article is to identify the role of computer science and mathematics in the formation of algorithmic thinking style. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: analysis, comparison, observation, synthesis. Statistical data processing was also used. The article states that the basis for algorithmic thinking is the formation of mathematical competence of junior high school students. In computer science lessons, students apply the acquired knowledge of mathematics by practical methods. Therefore, the appropriate level of students’ knowledge of mathematics is important. The article presents a table of success levels in mathematics and computer science for third and fourth graders of one of the primary schools in Uzhhorod. The level of success in studying mathematics was compared with the level of success in studying computer science by third-graders and similarly by fourth-graders. When comparing the two empirical distributions, we used the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov agreement criterion. We have shown that the selected general populations are stochastically equivalent. Comparing the results of educational achievements in computer science and mathematics of students of 3rd and 4th grades, we came to the conclusion that the formation of mathematical competence helps in solving problems in computer science lessons that require logical thinking and algorithmic skills. We believe that more attention should be paid to the study of the basics of programming in school, the development of logical and algorithmic thinking in mathematics and computer science, as well as in elective classes.

FUNCTIONS OF ALGORITHMIC THINKING IN THE PROCESS OF DEMONSTRATING CHESS SKILLS

Technological upgrades, progressive scientific and technical developments are a direct reflection of the challenges of the 21st century, the overcoming of which implies a review of the content of education and the results obtained from it, aimed at developing a creative, self-planning, results’ predicting personalities. The acquisition of the mentioned qualities is ensured by the introduction of a chess game in the educational process, the purpose of which is not only to learn chess, but also to develop cognitive, emotional qualities at young age (Karapetyan & Misakyan, 2020), action prediction, thinking quality, decision-making quality, performing analytical actions (Kasparov, 2007).

An Analysis of Students’ Computational Thinking Skills on The Number Patterns Lesson during The Covid-19 Pandemic

The development of the education curriculum in Indonesia makes students must have skills so that they can compete globally, especially in the 21st century. The development is closely related to technology and information. One of skills that support the development of technology and information is the <em>computational thinking</em> skills. This study aims to analyze students’ <em>computational thinking</em> skills on the number patterns lesson during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study was qualitative-descriptive research with the subjects of 4 students from 8th grade in Makassar. The instruments used in this study were a test of the <em>computational thinking</em> skills in the form of essay type test on the number patterns lesson and interview guidance. The results of this study indicated that all subjects met the first indicator of problem decomposition and one subject met the second indicator of problem decomposition, all subjects met the indicator of pattern recognition, three subjects met the indicator of abstraction and generalization, all subjects met the first indicator of algorithmic thinking and two subjects met the second indicator of algorithmic thinking on <em>computational thinking</em> skills. Thus, students’ <em>computational thinking</em> skills during the Covid-19 pandemic were still low, so an educational framework is needed to improve students’ <em>computational thinking</em> skills.