Exploring the Scope and the Conceptualization of Computational Thinking at the K-12 Classroom Level Curriculum

Abstract

The high impact of computer science (CS) in science, economy, and society has increased the international dialogue about the role of computational thinking (CT) in education. No sooner had this discussion come to a closing than several curricula developed, in the framework of various initiatives for the promotion of CT in K-12 education. In the meantime, concerns that CT is neither a unique and distinctive nor an adequate characterization of CS (Denning, Commun ACM 52:28–30, 2009), and thus supports a limited view of the role of CS in general education, were expressed. This chapter explores the conceptual interpretation of CT in widely known K-12 curricula. Furthermore, the paper explores the understanding of CT by the teachers as this is depicted in the pedagogical translation (Deng, J Curriculum Stud 41:585–604, 2009) of the curricula into learning activities. More specifically, directed qualitative content analysis on sets of learning activities of the selected curricula was conducted, using a complex coding scheme, based on current theoretical conceptions of CT, the fundamental principles of computing, and selected educational dimensions. The goals of the analysis include (a) to promote CT conceptual disambiguation, (b) to deductively confirm that CT concerns the application of CS to other school subjects and gain a better understanding of the nature of this relation, and (c) to search for evidence supporting Denning’s (Commun ACM 52:28–30, 2009) view according to which, while CT is one of the key practices of CS, it is not adequate to cover all the principles and practices of the discipline. The outcomes promote the understanding of CT’s educational meaning, by unveiling the current content theory of CT’s formation as a school subject.