Should Children Think like Computers? Interrupting the Cycle of Technoscientific Fixes for Education

• In Event: The Language of STI Policy in the 21st Century - II

Abstract

The concept of "computational thinking," popularized by computer scientist Jeannette Wing in 2006, has been widely incorporated into US educational policy at all levels of schooling. But what does it mean to think like a computer? Does computer science teach unique skills that all children need? What public good is served by universal technical training? This paper problematizes current claims for computational thinking as an educational panacea by tracing a series of analogous claims since the late 19th century that technoscientific innovations, such as television or "New Math", would provide a radical improvement in American children's thinking skills. I argue that such claims tend to arise at the intersection of rapid technological change and crisis-driven educational policy, with support from contemporary theories about the psychology of learning. A comparison of these discourses about "technoscience as cognition" reveals a continuous ideological thread tying STEM education to national goals of security, prosperity, and equal opportunity. In light of this recurring historical cycle, policymakers should question current claims about the unique thinking powers and economic opportunities bestowed by the universal study of computers. This study also raises the larger philosophical and policy issue of whether STEM education can or should be an instrument to mold citizens.

Author

• Janet Abbate, Virginia Tech