[Paper Review] Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it Fit? A systematic literary review

James Lockwood, Aidan Mooney|MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)|Mar 22, 2017

Teaching and Learning Programming120 references63 citations

TL;DR

A systematic literature review assessing the status, gaps, and opportunities for Computational Thinking (CT) in education, highlighting infancy of CT integration, definitional debates, and the proliferation of teaching resources and curriculum development.

ABSTRACT

Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which everyone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour Papert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since Wing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international community's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in education. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and education researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the domain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist. Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work currently being done around the world in many different educational contexts, the work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create an agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of, or have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of education. It was also found that Computer Science/Computing, which could be the most obvious place to teach CT, has yet to become a mainstream subject in some countries, although this is improving. Of encouragement to educators is the wealth of tools and resources being developed to help teach CT as well as more and more work relating to curriculum development. For those teachers looking to incorporate CT into their schools or classes then there are bountiful options which include programming, hands-on exercises and more. The need for more detailed lesson plans and curriculum structure however, is something that could be of benefit to teachers.

Motivation & Objective

• Survey the existing research on Computational Thinking in education.
• Identify where CT is being taught and in which educational contexts.
• Highlight definitional ambiguities and curriculum-related gaps.
• Discuss available tools, resources, and needs for detailed lesson plans and structure.
• Identify opportunities for future research and practical guidance for educators.

Proposed method

• Examine a broad set of literature on CT in education.
• Synthesize findings to map current state and trends.
• Assess maturity level and contextual variation across countries and curricula.
• Identify gaps in definitions, curriculum integration, and instructional guidance.
• Discuss implications for educators and policy makers.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What is the current state of research on Computational Thinking in education?
• RQ2 In which educational contexts and disciplines is CT being taught or explored?
• RQ3 What definitional and curricular gaps exist for CT in education?
• RQ4 What tools, resources, and curricular developments support CT education, and what remains lacking?

Key findings

• CT in education is still in its infancy despite growing global activity.
• Countries vary in introducing CT across education levels and curricula.
• There is a need for an agreed-upon definition of CT.
• CS/Computing is a natural venue for CT but has not universally become a mainstream subject yet.
• There is a wealth of tools and resources supporting CT teaching and curriculum development.
• More detailed lesson plans and explicit curriculum structures would benefit teachers.