Abstract
This paper addresses how to identify and assess computational thinking (Tang et al., 2020; Denning & Tedre, 2019) in primary schools within L1 (mother tongue
language) classrooms. Reporting on three conducted Design-Based Research experiments in three different school classes, examples illustrate how a
pedagogical design is applied and assessed in a teaching CT skills activity where pupils author interactive stories in the open-source application, Twine.
Classroom observations and pupils’ Twine stories were analyzed and assessed based on eight criteria, reflecting both the national goals for the subject and CT
skills. Although findings suggest that the pupils attained the goals of the design, it is challenging to perform assessments in the cross-section between the L1
subject and CT skills (Weintrop et al., 2021) in the sense that assessing both content knowledge within and outside the subject can blur what is being assessed,
and how this can support pupils in their continuous learning process. This challenge needs to be further investigated and discussed. Denning, P. J., & Tedre, M.
(2019). Computational thinking. The MIT Press. Tang, X., Yin, Y., Lin, Q., Hadad, R., & Zhai, X. (2020). Assessing computational thinking: A systematic review
of empirical studies. Computers & Education, 148, 103798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103798 Weintrop, D., Rutstein, D., Bienkowski, M., &
McGee, S. (2021). Assessment of Computational Thinking. I A. Yadav & U. D. Berthelsen, Computational Thinking in Education (1. udg., s. 90–111). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003102991-6
language) classrooms. Reporting on three conducted Design-Based Research experiments in three different school classes, examples illustrate how a
pedagogical design is applied and assessed in a teaching CT skills activity where pupils author interactive stories in the open-source application, Twine.
Classroom observations and pupils’ Twine stories were analyzed and assessed based on eight criteria, reflecting both the national goals for the subject and CT
skills. Although findings suggest that the pupils attained the goals of the design, it is challenging to perform assessments in the cross-section between the L1
subject and CT skills (Weintrop et al., 2021) in the sense that assessing both content knowledge within and outside the subject can blur what is being assessed,
and how this can support pupils in their continuous learning process. This challenge needs to be further investigated and discussed. Denning, P. J., & Tedre, M.
(2019). Computational thinking. The MIT Press. Tang, X., Yin, Y., Lin, Q., Hadad, R., & Zhai, X. (2020). Assessing computational thinking: A systematic review
of empirical studies. Computers & Education, 148, 103798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103798 Weintrop, D., Rutstein, D., Bienkowski, M., &
McGee, S. (2021). Assessment of Computational Thinking. I A. Yadav & U. D. Berthelsen, Computational Thinking in Education (1. udg., s. 90–111). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003102991-6
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 25 Aug 2023 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Aug 2023 |
| Event | The European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction 2023: Education as hope in uncertain times - Aristotle University and University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece Duration: 22 Aug 2023 → 26 Aug 2023 https://www.earli.org/events/earli2023 |
Conference
| Conference | The European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Aristotle University and University of Macedonia |
| Country/Territory | Greece |
| City | Thessaloniki |
| Period | 22/08/23 → 26/08/23 |
| Internet address |