Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking in the Ontario Elementary School Curriculum

Abstract

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) -an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts and perspectives were more frequently cited than practices, related terms appeared across almost all disciplines and grades. Findings suggest that CT is already a relevant consideration for educators in terms of concepts and perspectives; however, CT practices should be more widely incorporated to promote 21st century skills across disciplines. Future research would benefit from continued examination of the implementation and assessment of CT and its related concepts, practices, and perspectives.

Differences in Students’ Computational Thinking Activities when Designing an Algorithm for Drawing Plane Figures

“…Efforts to promote CT in schools, especially STEM, are on the rise (Hennessey et al, 2017;Lockwood et al, 2016;Sanford & Naidu, 2016;Wang et al, 2022;Weintrop et al, 2016). The goal of this article was to explore ways to integrate the promotion of CT into mathematics classrooms.…”

“…However, they are rarely treated as algorithms in their structure. Here, there would be some overlap and points of connection that could be used (Hennessey et al, 2017). One example would be a construction of a quadrilateral using Euclidean geometry.…”

“…CT is becoming recognized as a significant aspect of general education that ought to be promoted in schools. An effective way to encourage CT is through subjectintegrated support, such as in mathematics (Hennessey et al, 2017;Lockwood et al, 2016;Sanford & Naidu, 2016;Weintrop et al, 2016). Additionally, CT serves as an object of learning in the following examples.…”

PCK do Licenciado em Computação: Especificidades Pedagógicas da Docência em Computação

“…Entre os países mais desenvolvidos do mundo há um apelo tanto por parte dos órgãos governamentais, quanto por parte das famílias e dos educadores que os estudantes sejam melhor preparados ainda na Educação Básica para as carreiras profissionais que se inserem no mundo digital [Hennessey et al, 2017].…”

“…Segundo Hennessey et al (2017), existem dois tipos de abordagem para inserção do Pensamento Computacional no currículo da Educação Básica. Uma abordagem sugere a criação de um componente curricular específico para o trabalho com o Pensamento Computacional.…”