Assessing middle school students’ computational thinking through mathematical modeling: An action research study

This study investigates how middle school students enact computational thinking (CT) through mathematical modeling tasks in regular instruction. Conducted as practitioner-led action research over 4 weeks with 28 seventh-grade students in a Turkish public school, we collected student artifacts, classroom observations, and short interviews. A qualitative content analysis combined deductive codes for five CT dimensions with inductive categories; triangulation and high inter-rater agreement supported trustworthiness. Three patterns emerged: CT as iterative construction across representation, testing, and revision; CT through real-world anchoring that blends data handling with algorithmic strategies; and emergent CT in collaborative spaces where reasoning is externalized. Modeling-based tasks made students’ CT visible without computers and enabled rubric-guided assessment during instruction. We discuss implications for teachers and schools seeking low-tech CT integration and outline directions for future research.