Hello All,
We've been asked to consider whether learning today should tap into computational thinking. However, after reading the article "Bringing Computational Thinking to K-12: What is Involved and What is the Role of the Computer Science Education Community?" by Valerie Barr and Chris Stephenson, I'm not sure what my stance is. This article attempts to find a definition for "Computational Thinking" and yet manages to only bury the concept in multiple definitions and case studies.
This 2011 article includes a nifty table outlining different Computational Thinking concepts, and gives examples in various disciplines (e.g., Data collection in Language Arts could be through linguistic analysis of sentences), which is a cool way to apply computer science terms such as "problem decomposition" and "algorithms and procedures" to many school subjects.
The article calls for teachers to use the correct "computational vocabulary" in the classroom. However, I would feel strange referring to instructions as "algorithms and procedures" in my Language Arts classroom. Similarly, I'm not sold on the idea of explicitly integrating these concepts into every subject. In Language Arts, "figurative language" embodies such terms as "metaphor" and "simile," but the article would have it be called "abstraction" instead. I feel as if that undermines Language Arts.
To me, "computational thinking" simply means using logic and problem solving to find solutions. As long as these are being done in a majority of the educational fields, why should computer science terminology dominate?
The article calls for integrating computational thinking and terminology into the classroom. However, the article fails to define "computational thinking." I feel as if instead of focusing on this indefinable concept, teachers and administrators should ensure that their lessons have a logical/problem solving approach and that their students are able to thinking logically and work together to solve problems.
Thanks for reading!
Lily
Barr, Valerie, & Stephenson, Chris (2011). Computational thinking to
K-12: What is involved and what is the role of the computer science
education community. ACM Inroads, Vol. 2(1), 48-54.
Hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you mentioned the fact that the article wasn't exactly "clear" on what computational thinking really is. I had a hard time picking a side because I was not exactly sure that it consisted of, and I am glad you did some outside research. I can see your point that we should not rely on computers only for use in the classroom, and it is smart for students to think logically and figure out problems on their own.
None of us in this class grew up with computers in our classrooms (as I know of), and somehow we all managed to acquire a great education. I feel there has to be a middle ground, so that we use computers only part time in the classroom, and still open a textbook once in awhile. Thanks for the further info.
Sarah