In learning to program and understanding how a programming language controls a computer, learners develop both insights and misconceptions whilst their mental models are gradually refined. It is important that the learner is able to distinguish the different elements and roles of a computer (compiler, interpreter, memory, etc.), which novice…

This paper proposes a framework for integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools into statistical training for Doctor of Education (EdD) students. The rigorous demands of doctoral education, coupled with the challenges of learning complex statistical software and coding language, often lead to anxiety and frustration among students,…

In this article, we seek to understand how university students learn to use programming as an instrument for 'authentic' mathematical investigations. We use the instrumental approach as a framework, focusing on how the transformation of the programming language into an instrument requires that the user develops or mobilizes multiple schemes at…

We argue that understanding the cognitive foundations of computational thinking will assist educators to improve children's learning in computing. We explain the conceptual relationship between executive functions and aspects of computational thinking. We present initial empirical data from 23 eleven year old learners which investigates the…

The goal of this paper is to explore dynamic geometry environments (DGE) as a type of computer programming language. Using projects created by secondary students in one particular DGE, we analyse the extent to which the various aspects of computational thinking--including both ways of doing things and particular concepts--were evident in their…

In this paper, we propose that paper circuitry provides a productive space for exploring aspects of computational thinking, an increasingly critical 21st century skills for all students. We argue that the creation and operation of paper circuits involve learning about computational concepts such as rule-based constraints, operations, and defined…

This study aims to explore an educational learning environment that supports students to learn conceptual modelling with the unified modelling language (UML). In this study, we call the describing models "UML programming." In this paper, we show an educational UML programming environment for science, technology, engineering, art, and…

The iDREAMS project aims to reinvent Computer Science education in K-12 schools, by using game design and computational science for motivating and educating students through an approach we call Scalable Game Design, starting at the middle school level. In this paper we discuss the use of Computational Thinking Patterns as the basis for our…

This article examines the language and literacy practices of middle-school children as they worked toward constructing their own computer games using "Gamestar Mechanic," a game intended to teach them key ways of thinking and communicating germane to the discourse of game designers. It examines the changes that took place in what previous work…

"The Expert Mathematician" is designed to help middle school students develop the thinking processes for mathematical applications and communication. A three-year program of instruction, "The Expert Mathematician" uses a software and consumable print materials package with 196 lessons that teach the "Logo" programming…

The assertion that "higher order" thinking skills can be improved by learning to program computers is not a new one. The idea endures even though the empirical evidence over the years has been mixed at best. In fact, there is no reason to expect that all programming courses will have identical, or even similar, effects. Such courses typically…

The phrase "technology and education" usually means inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the same old way. Moreover, if the gadgets are computers, the same old teaching becomes incredibly more expensive and biased towards its dullest parts, namely the kind of rote learning in which measurable…