Computational Thinking and Robotics
What is CT?
Valenzuela (2020) describes computational thinking as a "thinking tool" for solving problems, which was originally popularized by a number of computer scientists. Valenzuela (2020) further writes in their book that there are four elements of computational thinking: decomposition (breaking down problems), pattern recognition (finding similarities and differences in decomposed problems to help make predictions), abstraction (removing features to reduce the problem to its essential elements), and algorithm design (creating instructions to solve the problem). Having students learn these elements supposedly helps them understand the logic and processes behind hardware and software designs (Valenzuela, 2020).
ISTE (2021) states that computational thinking is an "essential skill" for approaching and solving problems that extends beyond computer science, which Valenzuela (2020) supports as well. This means that computational thinking is not limited to any discipline or grade, but can be implemented throughout various curricula.
What is robotics?
Within education, teaching robotics means teaching students how to think critically, solve problems, and follow logical plans (Valenzuela, 2020). It is important to build on these skills and scaffold students to more complex tasks as they become used to working with robotics and the process.
How are they similar or how are they connected?
Both computational thinking and robotics seem to focus on the idea of problem solving and following logical steps towards a solution. This would make sense, as computational thinking stems from disciplines like computer science and robotics. It seems like robotics is one way to teach computational thinking, while computational thinking is something that can be more widely applied.
Valenzuela (2020) explains that while robotics and computational thinking are connected, robotics is a discipline while computations thinking is moreso a set of skills and processes.
How do they appear in secondary level curricula?
After searching on the BC curriculum website, I found that robotics and computational thinking do not overlap. I completed two separate searches and created the following table to show the courses that each search term produced.
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Robotics |
CT |
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I found this to be quite intriguing after reading that robotics and computational thinking overlap according to Valenzuela. On the robotics side, it typically appears in these courses as content (such as in ADST 9 or Engineering 11/12) or a process (Robotics 11/12). On the other hand, computational thinking appears with a verb, such as "implement", supporting the earlier idea that CT is a process or something that can be used.
Questions and surprises:
If computational thinking can be applied across multiple disciplines, why is that not reflected in the BC curriculum?
If other disciplines are using different vocabulary to describe the same processes, why not streamline the words to make it easier to search and unify the curriculum?
References
BC Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Explore Curriculum. BC's Curriculum, retrieved 2 May 2021 from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/search
ISTE U. (2021). Introduction to Computational Thinking for Every Educator. ISTE, retrieved 2 May 2021 from https://www.iste.org/learn/iste-u/computational-thinking
Valenzuela, J. (2020). Rev up robotics : real-world computational thinking in the K-8 classroom. International Society for Technology in Education, pp. retrieved 2 May 2021 from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.queensu.ca/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI0ODYwNDhfX0FO0?sid=ea2bbb5a-13c2-4e13-b3ab-6cba29294ab4@sessionmgr4006&vid=0&format=EK&rid=1
Images courtesy of Pixabay
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