Assessing Computational Thinking

This book presents different approaches for answering the question: How do we assess computational thinking? The result is a snapshot of the current state of the field for assessing computational thinking. The last decade has seen rapid growth in the presence of computational thinking (CT) in educational contexts. Those working to advance CT argue that the concepts and skills associated with CT are essential to succeed in an increasingly computational world. As a result of these efforts, there has been tremendous growth in curricula, learning environments, and innovations around CT education in K-12 classrooms and beyond. As CT grows in prominence, so too does the need to be able to effectively and equitably assess learners CT abilities. This volume is a collection of chapters pursuing different approaches for answering the question: How do we assess computational thinking? The answers provided span age ranges, formal and informal contexts, conceptual aspects of CT, and varying methodological and evaluative strategies. Collectively, the volume captures the current state of the field for assessing computational thinking and lays the groundwork for future CT assessment innovation. Assessing Computational Thinking will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Education, Educational Assessment, Educational Research, Psychology and Research Methods. The chapters included in this book were originally published as a special issue of Computer Science Education.

This This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.This book offers a comprehensive guide, covering every important aspect of computational thinking education. It provides an in-depth discussion of computational thinking, including the notion of perceiving computational thinking practices as ways of mapping models from the abstraction of data and process structures to natural phenomena. Further, it explores how computational thinking education is implemented in different regions, and how computational thinking is being integrated into subject learning in K-12 education. In closing, it discusses computational thinking from the perspective of STEM education, the use of video games to teach computational thinking, and how computational thinking is helping to transform the quality of the workforce in the textile and apparel industry.

Computational Thinking in Education explores the relevance of computational thinking in primary and secondary education. As today’s school-aged students prepare to live and work in a thoroughly digitized world, computer science is providing a wealth of new learning concepts and opportunities across domains. This book offers a comprehensive overview of computational thinking, its history, implications for equity and inclusion, analyses of competencies in practice, and integration into learning, instruction, and assessment through scaffolded teacher education. Computer science education faculty and pre- and in-service educators will find a fresh pedagogical approach to computational thinking in primary and secondary classrooms.

This book reports on research and practice on computational thinking and the effect it is having on education worldwide, both inside and outside of formal schooling. With coding becoming a required skill in an increasing number of national curricula (e.g., the United Kingdom, Israel, Estonia, Finland), the ability to think computationally is quickly becoming a primary 21st century “basic” domain of knowledge. The authors of this book investigate how this skill can be taught and its resultant effects on learning throughout a student's education, from elementary school to adult learning.

The education system is constantly growing and developing as more ways to teach and learn are implemented into the classroom. Recently, there has been a growing interest in teaching computational thinking with schools all over the world introducing it to the curriculum due to its ability to allow students to become proficient at problem solving using logic, an essential life skill. In order to provide the best education possible, it is imperative that computational thinking strategies, along with programming skills and the use of robotics in the classroom, be implemented in order for students to achieve maximum thought processing skills and computer competencies. The Research Anthology on Computational Thinking, Programming, and Robotics in the Classroom is an all-encompassing reference book that discusses how computational thinking, programming, and robotics can be used in education as well as the benefits and difficulties of implementing these elements into the classroom. The book includes strategies for preparing educators to teach computational thinking in the classroom as well as design techniques for incorporating these practices into various levels of school curriculum and within a variety of subjects. Covering topics ranging from decomposition to robot learning, this book is ideal for educators, computer scientists, administrators, academicians, students, and anyone interested in learning more about how computational thinking, programming, and robotics can change the current education system.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment, INTETAIN 2014. The 8 full papers presented together with 4 special session papers, 4 panels and 6 extended abstracts were carefully selected from 26 submissions. The papers present interdisciplinary research, covering topics such as creativity applied to technology, AI, cognition and models of engagement and play. The special session papers address the topic of humor in intelligent environments.

As technology continues to develop and prove its importance in modern society, certain professions are acclimating. Aspects such as computer science and computational thinking are becoming essential areas of study. Implementing these subject areas into teaching practices is necessary for younger generations to adapt to the developing world. There is a critical need to examine the pedagogical implications of these technological skills and implement them into the global curriculum. The Handbook of Research on Integrating Computer Science and Computational Thinking in K-12 Education is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of computer science curriculum development within primary and secondary education. While highlighting topics including pedagogical implications, comprehensive techniques, and teacher preparation models, this book is ideally designed for teachers, IT consultants, curriculum developers, instructional designers, educational software developers, higher education faculty, administrators, policymakers, researchers, and graduate students.

While the growth of computational thinking has brought new awareness to the importance of computing education, it has also created new challenges. Many educational initiatives focus solely on the programming aspects, such as variables, loops, conditionals, parallelism, operators, and data handling, divorcing computing from real-world contexts and applications. This decontextualization threatens to make learners believe that they do not need to learn computing, as they cannot envision a future in which they will need to use it, just as many see math and physics education as unnecessary. The Handbook of Research on Tools for Teaching Computational Thinking in P-12 Education is a cutting-edge research publication that examines the implementation of computational thinking into school curriculum in order to develop creative problem-solving skills and to build a computational identity which will allow for future STEM growth. Moreover, the book advocates for a new approach to computing education that argues that while learning about computing, young people should also have opportunities to create with computing, which will have a direct impact on their lives and their communities. Featuring a wide range of topics such as assessment, digital teaching, and educational robotics, this book is ideal for academicians, instructional designers, teachers, education professionals, administrators, researchers, and students.