Examination of Computational Thinking Capacity-Building Through Peer Collaborations in STEM-Integrated Robotics Program

• In Event: 28.087 - Computational Thinking Across Contexts

Abstract

Computational thinking (CT) has been prioritized nationwide as an essential skill for digital citizens in the 21st century. K-12 educators thus have embarked on developing students’ CT through the STEM curriculum. CT is a generic problem-solving process that enables people to solve problems using the computational tools, techniques, and approaches. Numerous educators propose that collaborations engage learners in richer CT processes. Building on this notion, there is a critical need to understand how learners’ interactions influence different practices of CT. We selected three pairs of students from the implementation of an integrated-STEM robotics curriculum in 5th grade classrooms and used the case study approach by analyzing video observations to examine the development of different CT capacities through peer collaborations.

Authors

• Yi-Chun Hong, Arizona State University

• Yingxiao Qian