Abstract

Computational thinking (CT) has been advocated as an essential problem solving skill students need to develop. Emphasizing on CT applied in both programming and everyday contexts, we developed a humanoid robotics curriculum and a computerized assessment instrument. We implemented the curriculum with six classes of 125 fifth graders. Quantitative methods were used to compare students’ performance from pretest to posttest. Learning analytics techniques were applied to examine students’ problem solving processes. The results showed that students’ CT performance improved in both programming and everyday reasoning contexts and that the curriculum benefited students with varied initial performance. The study shed light on how to connect and assess CT in everyday reasoning and programming contexts.

摘要

计算思维 (CT) 一直被认为是学生需要发展的基本问题解决技能。强调 CT 在编程和日常环境中的应用，我们开发了人形机器人课程和计算机化评估工具。我们实施了六班 125 名五年级学生的课程。定量方法被用来比较学生从前测到后测的表现。学习分析技术被应用于检查学生解决问题的过程。结果表明，学生的 CT 表现在编程和日常推理环境中都有所提高，并且课程使学生受益于不同的初始表现。该研究揭示了如何在日常推理和编程环境中连接和评估 CT。