Multiple Representations in Computational Thinking Tasks: A Clinical Study of Second-Grade Students

• In Event: Teaching Practices to Support Computational Thinking and Computer Science

Abstract

Through research in K-2 classrooms on computational thinking (CT), we noticed students lack the representational fluency. This study addresses the research question: How do second grade students use and translate among representations to solve CT tasks? We employed task-based interviews with three second grade students engaged in four CT tasks. We found students translated between representations using concrete representations to ease translations, language as a scaffold between translations, and embodied movements to assist with translation. Furthermore, the levels of representational maturity showed by the students varied with the difficulty of the task, and the spatial orientation was particularly difficult for them. These results show how learners may engage with abstract representations that will be part of future STEM/CT practices.

Authors

• Tamara Jo Moore, Purdue University

• Kristina Tank, Iowa State University

• Sean P. Brophy, Purdue University

• Ruben Lopez-Parra, Purdue University

• Amanda Johnston, Purdue University

• Morgan Hynes, Purdue University

• Elizabeth Gajdzik, Purdue University