ERIC Number: EJ1247086
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Mar
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-2357
EISSN: N/A
A Double Dissociative Study into the Effectiveness of Computational Thinking
Calderon, Ana C.; Skillicorn, Deiniol; Watt, Andrew; Perham, Nick
Education and Information Technologies, v25 n2 p1181-1192 Mar 2020
We propose the first steps towards a rigorous analysis of the effectiveness of an emerging pedagogy, Computational Thinking. We found that two aspects of the pedagogy have a positive effect with regard to enhancing two cognitive processes, namely sequential thinking and in abstract thinking. Our data was gathered experimentally with a cohort of mixed-ability undergraduate students enrolled on three distinct courses. The study employed a mixed 2 × 2 factorial design with type of classroom intervention, measurements were taken at baseline and following delivery of computational thinking methodologies designed to focus on specific components of the pedagogy. The dependent variable was percentage improvement from baseline, and the analyses were conducted using 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA, an alpha criterion of p < 0.05 was adopted for all analyses. The specific components investigated were algorithmic thinking and abstraction, and we found a positive correlation between enhancements of sequentiality and abstract thinking.
Descriptors: Computation, Thinking Skills, Cognitive Processes, Logical Thinking, Abstract Reasoning, Undergraduate Students, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A