Investigating First Graders' Informal Computational Thinking: A Funds of Knowledge Approach

• In Event: Early Childhood and Elementary Learner Computing Education

Abstract

Children and their families engage in computational thinking in their everyday lives. We describe how we used a Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach (Gonzalez, Moll, & Armanti, 2005) to develop a digital task to assess the computational thinking skills (Wing, 2006) of first grade students in an urban public school. A multidisciplinary team used classroom observation and family interview data to determine the types of activities in which members of an urban public-school community actively engage and value (in their homes, communities, and workplaces). These practices, experiences, and values were analyzed for themes that may be leveraged for instruction and assessment. We found that FoK approaches provide a promising framework for assessing students’ computational thinking – particularly in historically marginalized communities.

Authors

• Darrell Earnest, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Randall, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author

• Sandra Sweeney, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Neena Thota, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author