Computational Thinking Education in the Asian Pacific Region

Abstract

The importance of computational thinking (CT) education in the twenty-first century cannot be understated, as digital computing technologies have become an essential component of practically all human activities. Due to their strength in the ICT industry, countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China have launched national curricular reforms to address the current movement of CT education in K-12 education. This special issue, therefore, intends to provide insights into the current curricular reform movement of CT education in the Asian Pacific region. It includes six papers presenting studies which expose the recent evidence-driven research and development of CT education. The findings of the studies shed light on the future policy and implementation of CT education in the Asian Pacific region. Integrating CT into formal education involves far more than learning and teaching of computational concepts and coding skills. We hope that this special issue provides better understandings of the current status of CT education in the Asia-Pacific region and the challenges faced by teachers, school administrators, and policy makers as well as other key stakeholders in the education community.

Berpikir Kritis dan Komputasi: Analisis Kebutuhan Media Pembelajaran di Sekolah Dasar

“…Berpikir komputasi akan membantu individu untuk memecahkan permasalahan umum yang kompleks melalui tahapan-tahapan decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, serta algorithm design (Hunsaker, 2020). Bahkan Wing (2006) menyebutkan bahwa berpikir komputasi menjadi kemampuan penting yang perlu dimiliki selain kemampuan membaca, menulis, dan aritmatika (So, Jong & Liu, 2020;Wing, 2006). Hal tersebut menunjukkan bahwa berpikir komputasi merupakan kemampuan yang bersifat fundamental yang perlu dipelajari dan digunakan oleh setiap orang.…”

International Trends in K–12 Computer Science Curricula Through Comparative Analysis: Implications for the Primary Curricula

“…Heintz et al (2016) reviewed the introduction model of K-12 computer science education in 10 countries by analyzing the relevant documents for each country and found that the common model is to make computer science education compulsory in primary school and elective in secondary school. So et al (2020) introduced computational thinking education (computer science education) status in the Asian Pacific Region by reviewing five empirical studies and one literature review study and showed the current research trends in the field of computer science education and teachers' perception in the region. The second approach presents computer science education trends in worldwide or regions; however, little research has been conducted in terms of curriculum trend.…”

Is Mathematics Required for Cooking? An Interdisciplinary Approach to Integrating Computational Thinking in a Culinary and Restaurant Management Course

“…The learning method is one of the most crucial factors in students' learning intention and learning style. During higher education teaching, it is critical to cultivate students' ability to analyze and solve problems [51,52]. Higher education represents the highest level of education; consequently, its content should cover not only specialized knowledge that reflects the latest developments in science and technology but also innovation in science and technology to promote the sustainable development of the social economy and culture [53,54].…”