Pedagogical strategies for teaching computational thinking in authentic contexts

Computational thinking is important not only in mathematics and computer science but in the other disciplines of STEM and integrated STEM education. This article presents the findings from a study undertaken in a small-town primary school in New Zealand with a high population of Māori students. The study drew on four aspects from Kotsopoulos et al.’s framework of pedagogical experiences: unplugged, tinkering, making, remixing to investigate pedagogical strategies that facilitate the successful embedding of computational thinking within authentic technological practice. Computational thinking is an aspect of digital technologies in the New Zealand Curriculum that teaches children to approach problems systematically, using logical and analytical reasoning. It aims to prepare learners to be designers and developers of digital outcomes. The research identifies learning pedagogies that assist young learners to develop their understanding of computational thinking for the purpose of understanding, designing and developing digital technologies. The qualitative methodologies were informed by the three pedagogical principles from Bishop and Berryman to guide the research design and frame learning support for students. Key themes to emerge from the data include the value of local context, student and classroom organisation, use of physical and digital manipulatives and gamification. Finally, the paper presents a model for the pedagogical delivery of computational thinking when embedded in technological practice in primary schools, drawing from and adding to Kotsopoulos et.al’s pedagogical framework.