The Cognition of Everyday Machines: Computational Literacy and the Development of Everyday Technological Understanding

• In Event: Roundtable Session 120
  In Roundtable Session: Computational Literacy Revisited

Abstract

Computational media embedded in hands-on construction experiences can offer students a way to learn valued STEM academic content while developing a more refined understanding of the technological world around them. The authors conducted a two-week after-school fabrication and robotics design workshop for a group of high-schoolers, and developed a test to measure the ability to identify sensors, actuators, and the logic behind everyday devices. Pre- vs. post-test improvements suggest that construction experiences help students to understand the nature of everyday devices, and point to a new direction for assessing computational thinking and engineering knowledge.

Authors

• Daniel Greene, Stanford University

• Paulo Blikstein, Stanford University