Abstract
Ever since technology became an integral part of human life, a range of new concepts have surfaced. Computational thinking (CT) has been extensively discussed in the last 15 years and has been gaining popularity in the educational world. Following an overview of the basic literature published on this evasive new concept, an attempt is made to outline the connection between computational thinking and programming with emphasis on tangible programming of educational robots. An implemented educational programme, which attests to the positive impact of robotics on the acquisition of computational thinking skills in early childhood, is presented and evaluated. The study took place in a typical Greek kindergarten in 2017 and focused on the development of particular aspects of computational thinking with the use of a programmable floor robot.
TopBackground
Computational Thinking (CT)
Prensky (2001: 1) proposed the insightful term digital natives to describe the “generation born and raised in an environment where digital media is ubiquitous” which results in fundamental differences in the way students think and process information; differences that educators are just beginning to comprehend. In 2006, Karl Fisch pinpointed one of the greatest challenges educational systems face nowadays: “We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet”. His inspirational video has had more than 21 million views on YouTube and triggered spirited discussions among educators worldwide.
Modern School Curricula around the world are gradually including the development of Computational Thinking (CT), a term coined by Wing (2006: 33) when she stated that “computational thinking involves solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior, by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science”. Although CT has various definitions, it is widely accepted that it “encompasses a broad of analytic and problem-solving skills, dispositions, habits, and approaches used in computer science” (Sullivan & Bers 2015: 5). The British Royal Society (2012: 29) defines CT as “the process of recognizing aspects of computation in the world that surrounds us, and applying tools and techniques from Computer Science to understand and reason about both natural and artificial systems and processes”, based on Papert’s views (1980, 1991) that computers enable children to develop procedural thinking (i.e. CT) through programming and solving problems - by generating ideas, analyzing problems and explaining the relations between problems and their solutions. Scientists have since tried to further clarify the concept of CT but consensus has not been reached yet; nevertheless, there is academic agreement that CT is a thinking process, therefore not dependent on technology, and it involves specific problem-solving skills which can be used by a computer, a human or a combination of both (Bocconi, Chioccariello, Dettori, Ferrari & Engelhardt, 2016). According to Perković, Settle, Hwang & Jones (2010), CT also offers new ways of understanding natural and social phenomena and promotes creativity and innovation. Therefore, attempts have been made to introduce activities for the development of CT skills even in primary education as it is considered equally important with the traditional three R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Free Play: The kindergarten Curriculum allocates specific time during the day when children are allowed to choose which activity center they want to play at, alone or with their friends.
Tangible (or Haptic) Programming: The programmer uses available keys/buttons or blocks to create the desired code. It is closely connected with robotic devices, and it does not require any kind of screen.
Preschooler/Kindergartner: A child who attends the official pre-primary school programme at a school. In Greece, these children’s age ranges aged between 4 and 6 years.
Compromise Skills: The ability to accept that one’s suggestions are not adopted (or desires are not met) by their team and still work to achieve goals without shouting, pouting, undermining others, leaving the group, or looking to the teacher for mediation.
Negotiation Skills: The ability to discuss differences by respectfully presenting own views and trying to convince others to adopt them. For instance, saying “I believe it would be better to press the orange button because Colby must go left here! If we press the purple one, it won’t go correctly” instead of the usual behavior of shouting, pouting, grabbing the object of disagreement or looking to the teacher for mediation.
In Plenary: Tasks, discussions or games which are addressed to all the students. They take place at the designated classroom area that is equipped with seats for everyone so that they can present work, express ideas, share experiences and make decisions as one group.
Activity Center: It is also called learning ‘corner’. A specific area in the classroom equipped with educational materials targeting specific skills. For instance, the writing learning corner is at a quiet spot and offers a selection of writing materials (i.e., pencils, papers, letter shapes, picture-letter flashcards, etc.) to any child who feels like working with letters.