Computational Thinking as an Interdisciplinary Approach to Computer Science School Curricula: A German Perspective

Abstract

The German school system is very complex and inconsistent, due to the policy of states being responsible for the state curricula. One of the most heterogeneous fields is the teaching of computer science (CS). Although the topic is becoming more and more important for students growing up in a digital media society, stakeholders are not able to find common ground on the matter of whether and how computer science should be taught at German schools. With the beginning of the 2016–2017 school year, the State of Baden-Württemberg is planning to introduce a new state curriculum. In this curriculum, named Educational Plan 16, computer science is integrated into the higher secondary track schools as an interdisciplinary task. This chapter introduces computational thinking as a thinking method that (1) enables stakeholders in Germany to integrate computer science into their classes and (2) close the gap between different classes to support an interdisciplinary approach to computer science teaching. Reaching these targets involves meeting specific personal, institutional, and systemic conditions and overcoming existing limitations. This chapter also describes the possibility of strengthening an approach to an international computer science education by developing and distributing computational thinking projects across national borders.