scholarly journals An Examination of Abstraction in K-12 Computer Science Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Liebe ◽  
Tracy Camp
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
K 12

After-Hours Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Joslenne Peña ◽  
Benjamin V. Hanrahan ◽  
Mary Beth Rosson ◽  
Carmen Cole
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Computer Programming ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Professional Women ◽  
Web Development ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
After Hours ◽  
K 12

Many initiatives have focused on attracting girls and young women (K-12 or college) to computer science education. However, professional women who never learned to program have been largely ignored, despite the fact that such individuals may have many opportunities to benefit from enhanced skills and attitudes about computer programming. To provide a convenient learning space for this population, we created and evaluated the impacts of a nine-week web development workshop that was carefully designed to be both comfortable and engaging for this population. In this article, we report how the professionals’ attitudes and skills grew over the course of the workshop and how they now expect to integrate these skills and attitudes into their everyday lives.

scholarly journals Computational Thinking, Between Papert and Wing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lodi ◽  
Simone Martini
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Technical Content ◽  
Technical Competencies ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Affective Involvement

AbstractThe pervasiveness of Computer Science (CS) in today’s digital society and the extensive use of computational methods in other sciences call for its introduction in the school curriculum. Hence, Computer Science Education is becoming more and more relevant. In CS K-12 education, computational thinking (CT) is one of the abused buzzwords: different stakeholders (media, educators, politicians) give it different meanings, some more oriented to CS, others more linked to its interdisciplinary value. The expression was introduced by two leading researchers, Jeannette Wing (in 2006) and Seymour Papert (much early, in 1980), each of them stressing different aspects of a common theme. This paper will use a historical approach to review, discuss, and put in context these first two educational and epistemological approaches to CT. We will relate them to today’s context and evaluate what aspects are still relevant for CS K-12 education. Of the two, particular interest is devoted to “Papert’s CT,” which is the lesser-known and the lesser-studied. We will conclude that “Wing’s CT” and “Papert’s CT,” when correctly understood, are both relevant to today’s computer science education. From Wing, we should retain computer science’s centrality, CT being the (scientific and cultural) substratum of the technical competencies. Under this interpretation, CT is a lens and a set of categories for understanding the algorithmic fabric of today’s world. From Papert, we should retain the constructionist idea that only a social and affective involvement of students into the technical content will make programming an interdisciplinary tool for learning (also) other disciplines. We will also discuss the often quoted (and often unverified) claim that CT automatically “transfers” to other broad 21st century skills. Our analysis will be relevant for educators and scholars to recognize and avoid misconceptions and build on the two core roots of CT.

A Global Snapshot of Computer Science Education in K-12 Schools

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hubwieser ◽  
Michail N. Giannakos ◽  
Marc Berges ◽  
Torsten Brinda ◽  
Ira Diethelm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
K 12
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document