Abstract

We examine elementary and middle school students social interactions while engaged in making activities designed to promote computational thinking (CT). Participants include 52 students in grades five, six, seven and eight working in 17 different groups in three different schools in the Northeast. Students solved CT challenges introduced by their teachers during a series of lessons in their classroom or school makerspace. Prior to the CT challenges, teachers participated in summer professional development focused on developing lessons aligning disciplinary content with CT competencies and practices. Co-ACT, an observation rubric that measures CT during collaborative problem solving, and semi-structured interviews were used to investigate students proficiency with and perspectives toward peer interactions and communication. The majority of participants interacted and communicated with peers at an acceptable or proficient level and students perceived their social interactions as positive. Findings also implied educators might find ways to increase self-monitoring and equitable participation.

摘要

我们在从事旨在促进计算思维（CT）的活动时，研究了中小学生的社交互动。参与人员包括52名5、6、7和8年级的学生，他们分别在东北三所不同学校的17个不同小组工作。在课堂或学校创客空间的一系列课程中，学生们解决了老师提出的CT挑战。在接受CT挑战之前，教师参加了夏季专业发展，重点是开发使学科内容与CT能力和实践保持一致的课程。Co-ACT是一项观察性指标，用于在解决协作式问题期间测量CT，并使用半结构式访谈来调查学生对同伴互动和沟通的熟练程度和看法。大部分参与者都在同龄人的交流和沟通上达到了可接受或熟练的水平，并且学生认为他们的社交互动是积极的。调查结果还暗示，教育工作者可能会找到增加自我监控和公平参与的方法。