Developing Computational Thinking: Approaches and ...

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What are its relation to programming and computer science, on the one side, and ... The grey literature (reports, newspapers' articles, blog posts, videos,. OERs ...
European Commission JRC-IPTS

Developing Computational Thinking: Approaches and Orientations in K-12 Education Giuliana Dettori Institute for Educational Technology, CNR (ITALY) Co-authors: S. Bocconi, A. Chioccariello, Institute for Educational Technology, CNR (ITALY) Ferrari, K. Engelhardt, European Schoolnet (BELGIUM) P. Kampylis, Y. Punie, JRC - IPTS, European Commission (SPAIN)

SETTING THE SCENE • The phrase Computational Thinking (CT) was used by J.Wing (2006) to mean “thinking as a computer scientist” => using an analytic and algorithmic approach to formulate, analyse and solve problems • Also called Algorithmic Thinking • Considered a fundamental skill like reading, writing, and arithmetic • After 10 years the research field is very active Ø about 600 academic and grey documents, many initiatives related to CT BUT Ø limited introduction in school curricula and practice 2/21

OPEN ISSUES AND CHALLENGES • What characterizes CT differently from other thinking skills? • Should CT be included in compulsory education? • What are its relation to programming and computer science, on the one side, and to digital literacy, on the other? • What pedagogical approaches could facilitate CT introduction in K-12 education? • How should CT be assessed? • How should teachers be prepared to best integrate CT into their teaching? Exploratory study:

CompuThink An analysis of educational approaches to developing CT

3/21

THE COMPUTHINK STUDY Scope: To provide a comprehensive overview of academic research, grassroots and policy initiatives for developing CT as a 21st century skill among primary and secondary students Duration: December 2015 – September 2016 Ø Desk research, but much more than a literature review • An extensive review of academic literature on CT in K-12 • An extensive review of grey literature: grassroots initiatives, current policies and curricula, online documents, courses, etc. • Interviews with policy makers, experts and stakeholders involved in the design, implementation and/or evaluation of relevant initiatives • A survey to elicit policy documents 4/21

THE LITERATURE REVIEW • strategic search on a wide range of sources Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø

portals (Scopus, Science Direct, Scholar, Web of Science, ACM DL, SpringerLink, etc.), with a combination of several keywords snowballing direct search on some journals /magazins theses OERs repositories, blogs, newsletters, magazines, bulletins, grassroots websites, course providers sites, policy documents, curricula, ….

• literature processing preceded by a phase of inter-rater agreement, for consistent execution two review matrices, for conceptual studies and implementations Ø divided by topics Ø Ø

• tag-and-map representation Ø Ø

to provide a visual representation of key notions and their relations as a help to identify overlaps, patterns and possible contradictions 5/21

DOCUMENTS’ DISTRIBUTION BY YEAR OF PUBLICATION • Documents retrieved for 2006-2015, plus beginning 2016 • Faster growth in recent years (2016 only includes the first 3 months) Distribution by year of pubblication

136

91

66

31 4

6

2006

2007

18

18

2008

2009

34

30

21 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

6/21

DOCUMENTS’ DISTRIBUTION BY TYPE [1/2] • We identified 569 documents of various nature, among which 361 of academic literature (63%), including the following types Distribution by type (academic literature) THESIS

7

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

41

JOURNAL ARTICLES

107

CONFERENCE PAPERS

158

BOOK CHAPTERS

38

BOOKS

10 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

7/21

DOCUMENTS’ DISTRIBUTION BY TYPE [2/2] • The grey literature (reports, newspapers’ articles, blog posts, videos, OERs, MOOCs, curricula, etc.) amounted to 208 items (37%) Distribution by type (grey literature) REPORTS

26

WEB PAPGES

80

VIDEO RECORDINGS

4

PRESENTATIONS

7

10

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

52

DOCUMENTS

BLOG POSTS

29 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

8/21

DOCUMENTS’ DISTRIBUTION BY TOPIC Academic and grey literature distribution by Topic THINKING SKILLS & OTHER FIELDS

8 0

TEACHER TRAINING & SUPPORT MEASURES

16

22 59

RELATION TO PROGRAMMING/CS RELATION TO DIGITAL COMPETENCE

3 5

POLICY DOCUMENTS 1

20

LEARNING TOOLS

23

IMPLEMENTATION HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

18 43

20

60

0 62

DEFINITIONS CURRICULA

18

30

25

CT SKILLS IN K-12 ASSESSMENT

13

81 27

10

5

Academic

Grey

9/21

RESEARCH TRENDS OF CT IN K-12 EDUCATION Ø Definition and characterization of CT evolved after the initial one, yet preserving its nature • CT is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer—human or machine—can effectively carry out

Ø Potential advantages of introducing CT in education • fostering CT to boost economic growth and prepare for future jobs • develop CT skills to enable students to think in a different way, solve problems and analyze issues with a different perspective

Ø Design and implementation of successful activities • to introduce CT with students of different school levels and types • to assess CT • to train and support CT teachers 10/21

CONTRIBUTION OF ACADEMIC AND GREY LITERATURE Main contribution of academic literature related to CT • Conceptualizations, definitions, and characterizations of CT • CT skills in K-12 • CT assessment strategies • CT relation to CS/coding/programming • Experimental case studies (implementation in formal settings) Main focus of grey literature related to CT • CT policy actions and policy trends in K-12 Education • Information on CT-related grassroots initiatives • On-the-spot results from implementation initiatives • Guidelines on teacher training, school infrastructures to support CT • Learning tools related to CT 11/21

DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERIZATIONS

OF

CT

• Definitions Ø most authors refer to Wing’s definitions Ø some try to differentiate CT from other forms of thinking Ø some characterize it without defining, e.g.“CT is a key to developing the capacity to discover, create and innovate”

• Skills characterizing CT Ø abstraction Ø problem formulation, decomposition and solving Ø using algorithms and procedures Ø examining and generalizing patterns Ø collecting, analysing and representing data Ø making simulations Ø questioning evidence Ø using computer models Ø dealing with open-ended problems Ø ……… 12/21

CT VS COMPUTER SCIENCE & DIGITAL LITERACY • CT is the component of CS related to abstract notions (together with behavioural and cognitive aspects) • Mutual influence between CT and coding/programming Ø acquiring CT does not require programming, because CT is a conceptual approach to abstraction and problem solving Ø programming concretely illustrates CT, hence facilitates (and for many authors is essential for) its acquisition Ø coding is less than programming, and this is one component of CS

• Digital Literacy, identified with school subject ICT, differs from CT, is one of the 3 ways to use computers in school • Using office programs for everyday tasks (DL) • Using the potential of computer to learn other subjects • Computer science (the art of computing) 13/21

IMPLEMENTING CT IN PRACTICE • Implementation papers refer to concrete attempts to introduce CT in school in different ways Ø by emphasizing the development of CT skills (e.g., abstraction) within computer science activities, mainly game development Ø by detecting/supporting CT skills in other disciplines Ø by designing activities for particular recipients, e.g. girls

v Theoretical debate connected to implementation • School level addressed - mostly high school, but also intermediate and primary are considered

Ø what is “too young”?

• Disciplinary contexts in which to addressed CT 14/21

CT ASSESSMENT AND TEACHER TRAINING • A number of assessment approaches are considered, e.g. Ø Ø Ø Ø

analyzing a portfolio of projects artifact-based interviews scenario design skill transfer to other contexts

v what kind of assessment can elicit students’ CT skills in authentic contexts is still under-investigated

• Teacher preparation is addressed but in limited measure and mostly not within implementation descriptions v how to suitably prepare and support CT teachers is still under-investigated

15/21

THE CONTRIBUTION

OF THE INTERVIEWS

• Interviews were carried out with – researchers – policy makers – practitioners/stakeholders • Complement the picture given by the literature by Ø highlighting main trends Ø clarifying key ideas and terminology Ø spotting intersections among knowledge areas Ø clarifying the internal organization of policy and/or grassroots initiatives

16/21

MOOCS • Few MOOCs explicitly mention CT • Main concepts remain programming/coding • Algorithmic thinking is also a recurrent core concept • When courses are focused on CT, main themes are Ø abstraction Ø automation Ø algorithmic thinking Ø problem solving Ø CT courses mostly targeted to teachers Ø Programming courses mostly targeted to general public 17/21

ANALYSIS OF POLICIES AND CURRICULA • A survey on policy documents, to spot how the topic is addressed in different European countries Ø spotting reforms under elaboration, besides enacted ones

• Analysis of national curricula mentioning CT or CS Ø three more in depth (France, UK, Czech Republic)

• In both cases, interviews with people involved in policy and curriculum making is helping to spot issues and reasons of choices 18/21

CONCLUSIONS • CT is a dynamic, rapidly growing field Ø widespread interest for understanding the nature of this form of thinking Ø increasing number of projects, initiatives and experiences Ø increasing attention at policy/curriculum level Ø still some confusion on name and definition

• Big differences in the distribution of documents by topic Ø assessment and teacher training are under-investigated Øno real field development without filling these gaps!

• Very large variety of skills seen as part of CT Ø a too wide and vague characterization risks to void it of meaning no field development without focused characterization! 19/21

CONTACTS

CompuThink study website https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/computational-thinking For more information write to {bocconi, augusto, dettori}@itd.cnr.it {anusca.ferrari, katja.engelhardt}@eun.org {panagiotis.kampylis, yves.punies}@ec.europa.eu

20/21

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The CompuThink study is funded and designed by the JRC-IPTS of the European Commission under Contract No. 199551-2015 A08 IT and jointly carried out by • Institute for Educational Technology of the Italian National Research Council • European Schoolnet, which represents a network of Ministries of Education in Europe The data presented, the statements made and the views expressed in this presentation (and related article) are purely those of the authors and should not be regarded as the official position of the European Commission 21/21