What is Computational Thinking?

Purpose & Approach  

    The article I read from L&L was “Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill for Everyone” and the main focus was about defining the term Computational Thinking (CT). Through out the article the three authors answered three questions: How can we make CT accessible, how is CT different, and why is CT important. The article first explains how CT lacked a clear and practical definition for educators to use in the classroom.  Three organizations (NSF*, ISTE, & CSTA*) came together to develop/fund a project called Leveraging Thought Leadership for Computational Thinking in PK-12.  All three authors were all once educators in classrooms and were part in the decision process of the CT project. They argued that before this project educators who were advocates for CT and saw its importance was given a definition that did not truly help implement CT in a classroom environment:

Computational Thinking was “a way of solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science.”

The projects goal was to make CT more than a concept and through practices and strategies have an “operational definition, shared vocabulary, and relevant examples of CT to current education objectives & classroom practices”.  From surveys and feedback from educators they developed a definition that includes six skills and five attitudes that are essential dimensions of Computational Thinking (CT). One skill included to have the “ability to formulate problems that enables us to use a computer or other tools to help solve them”. Two essential attitudes included “having the confidence in dealing with complexity and ability to deal with open ended problems”.

The authors then shared how CT is different from critical thinking or mathematical thinking and answered why CT is an important skill for students to have.  They explained three reasons as to how CT was different.  Computational Thinking (CT) is considered to be a problem solving process with a “unique combination of thinking skills” that when combined provided “a new form of problem solving, its more tool oriented, and make use of familiar problem solving skills (trial & error, guessing, etc) that were once impractical”.  

So why is Computational Thinking important? As the authors explained in the article the application of CT has changed all aspects of how we do work and has affected every field of study. It is important because we need to learn and understand how, when, and where we can use computers and digital tools to help solve everyday problems and find working solutions. I could not word it any better when the authors stated that Computational Thinking (CT) gives us the “ability to extend the power of human thought”.  They argued that it is important to ensure all students have the same opportunity to learn these skills and they can apply these skills to solve different problems and use them in a variety of contexts.

* NSF = National Science Foundation

* CSTA = Computer Science Teachers Association            

Personal Connection

 I would have to agree with the authors and say Computational Thinking (CT) is a very important skill to have and it is just as important to ensure all students obtain this skill as CT is becoming more and more evident in our everyday lives and careers. I would be sure to become familiar with the six skills and five attitudes that are essential dimensions of CT. The article also provided examples of how CT has been used in a classroom across a variety of grade levels and I found them to be very informative. They were great ways to give students the opportunity to not only learn a subject, but also bring technology into the learning process. One example I found to be a great idea was the study of the Roman Empire for a sixth grade social studies class. The students had to compare their own life experiences with the life of a Roman child’s life. They would write their responses on a Blog and then were asked to reflect on two terms “modeling” and “simulation” and how these concepts can be used in the future and their careers.  I discussed in an earlier blog post how blogging could be used in a classroom. This does provide a way to implement Computational Thinking in a classroom.

Conclusion

In conclusion this article did make important points on why Computational Thinking (CT) is an important skill to have. One main reason is because it affects our everyday lives and it will only become a bigger impact as technology advances and becomes more mainstream.  Problem solving is something we do every day and because CT uses a combination of skills this process is even more important. We must give students the opportunity to not only learn such an essential skill, but also how to apply it in context with the real world. Before this article I was unaware of the term Computation Thinking and now that I am I will take into consideration how to make sure my students have the opportunity to learn this skill.  

Implication

    This article aligns with the forth NET-S standard ‘Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making’ for student learning.   This article talks about Computational Thinking which is a process for problem solving.  This skill is a combination of all other skills with the implementation of a computer or some form of a digital tool to help solve the problem at hand.

APA Reference:

Barr, D., Harrison, J., & Conery, L. (2011, March). Computational thinking: A digital age skill for   

      everyone. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38, 20-23. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from 

      http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/March-2011-
     Computational_Thinking- LL386.sflb.ashx