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: In this paper, we describe the content and evaluation of a Computational Thinking (CS0) course developed to improve the analytical problem solving of students participating in the course. The course is targeted to students who are mathematically under-prepared to enter our introductory programming sequence; however, it has recently been included in the University's general education curriculum so that students majoring in any discipline may take the course. Using the Whimbey Analytical Skills Inventory (WASI) students in the CS0 class, along with students in an analogous level engineering class (FESP), were tested at the beginning of the course and again at the end, using different versions of the test. The improvement in scores was statistically significant when measured by both the student t-test and the Cohen d (effect size) for CS0 students but not for the FESP students, providing support that the course does, in fact, increase student analytical problem solving skills. Courses in Computational Thinking have demonstrated success in many schools; however, this research demonstrates its effectiveness in improving analytical skills in majors as well as non-majors.
Dyne et al. (Tue,) studied this question.