Computational thinking for the digital age: a systematic review of tools, pedagogical strategies, and assessment practices

Computational thinking (CT) is an essential mathematical skill for problem-solving and students’ future lives. It is integrated into the educational curricula of several countries, including Portugal. Therefore, pre-service teachers (PST) must possess didactic knowledge to effectively develop CT in students. The aim of this study encompassed three main objectives: translating and adapting the computational thinking scale into Portuguese (study 1), validating the scale (study 2), and assessing the perceived levels of CT competencies among PST in Portuguese university students while examining differences between undergraduate and master’s level PST (study 3). The sample consisted of study 1 with 43 participants and study 2 and study 3 with 382 participants. In study 1, temporal stability was assessed indicating strong stability. The internal consistency showed good homogeneity of the items. The exploratory factor analysis revealed consistency with the structure of the original scale. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the CT scale demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, proving valid and reliable for assessing CT in university students. Additionally, significant differences were observed between undergraduate and master’s degree students, underscoring the importance of tailored training programs to meet the specific needs of undergraduate students.

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Game On: A Journey into Computational Thinking with Modern Board Games in Portuguese Primary Education

Machuqueiro,

Piedade

2024

Education Sciences

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Recent studies highlight the potential of modern board games (MBGs) to foster computational thinking (CT) skills in students. This research explored the impact of integrating MBGs into a primary education classroom through an embedded concurrent mixed-methods approach, with a pre-experimental design in its quantitative aspect and content analysis in its qualitative dimension, with 20 fourth-grade students from a school in Portugal. The students participated in 10 game sessions, each lasting 50 min, and their CT skills were assessed using Bebras tasks in both the pre-test and post-test phases. Statistical analysis, including the Shapiro–Wilk test for normality and paired sample t-tests, revealed significant improvements in key CT areas, particularly abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and decomposition. Descriptive statistics were also calculated, and content analysis using Nvivo software was conducted on field notes, corroborating the quantitative data. The results suggest that MBGs can serve as a valuable educational tool for developing CT skills in young learners. This study not only highlights the effectiveness of MBGs but also emphasises the need for further research using more robust experimental designs to enhance CT development in educational settings.

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Computational thinking for the digital age: a systematic review of tools, pedagogical strategies, and assessment practices

Cited by 5 publications

References 160 publications

Effectiveness of marker-based augmented reality game on computational thinking skills and cognitive load for middle school students

Effectiveness of marker-based augmented reality game on computational thinking skills and cognitive load for middle school students

Pre-service teachers’ competencies to develop computational thinking: A Portuguese tool to analyse Computational Thinking

Game On: A Journey into Computational Thinking with Modern Board Games in Portuguese Primary Education

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