This paper describes a high school or introductory university course in scientific programming that introduces the computer revolution into the physics curriculum at the beginning. In the first one-hour lecture, Euler's method is presented and used to compute a solution to the analytically unsolvable two-body problem. In the remainder of the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the skill levels of secondary school students regarding computational thinking, programming self-efficacy and reflective thinking aimed at problem solving and examine their experiences in the programming training process on robotic activities. Toward this purpose, a 10-week application was conducted with…

In this interview, biologist, artist, and shiatsu healer Artemis Papert describes how computational thinking can help people organize their thoughts in a more formal way. She discusses TurtleArt, a software that allows both children and adults to create two-dimensional static art images using geometry and coding as a medium. TurtleArt not only…

Systematic endeavors to take computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) to scale in middle and high school classrooms are underway with curricula that emphasize the enactment of authentic CT skills, especially in the context of programming in block-based programming environments. There is, therefore, a growing need to measure students'…

In the last few years, engaging students to create digital games has been a pole of attraction for many teachers and researchers, resulting in highly positive learning experiences and promoting their thinking skills, e.g., programming and computational thinking (CT) skills. Researchers have already stated about the need for further research not…

Computational Thinking (CT) is an increasingly relevant concept that researchers are promoting in formal learning contexts. In their mission to prepare teachers to integrate CT into K-12 schooling, teacher educators would benefit from understanding the different kinds of preconceptions of CT that their students bring to the classroom in order to…

This article proposes and explores the kinds of computational thinking, creative practices, design activities, and inclusive learning opportunities provided to diverse high school youth when designing integrated systems through simultaneously physically and digitally responsive wearable games and systems. Previous work in this area, conducted by…

Stepwise program refinement techniques can be used to simplify program verification. Programs are better understood since their main properties are clearly stated, and verification of rather complex algorithms is reduced to proving simple statements connecting successive program specifications. Additionally, it is easy to analyse similar…

In this paper we report our experiences from a University outreach program with primary and secondary education teachers of various specialties. Our goal was to improve the coding abilities of teachers through Scratch activities. The participants can in turn teach their students, multiplying that way the benefitted population. To increase the…

The development of programming skills is currently promoting from an early school age, trying to get children to take an active and creative role in the use of technologies. The objective of this article is to verify the repercussion of educational robotics activities on kindergarten students in the acquisition of computational thinking and…

Teachers around the world have started teaching programming at the K-9 level, some due to the formal introduction of programming in the national curriculum, others without such pressure and on their own initiative. In this study, we attempted to understand which skills -- both CT-related and general -- are developed among pupils in the process of…

This paper highlights the year-one (pilot) findings of a three-year project on emerging technologies where students engaged in computer modeling, 3D printing, flight simulation, and drones during summer camps and afterschool programs in rural and urban districts. The pilot was iterative as different interventions were field-tested in specific…

Computational tools and methods have permeated multiple science and engineering disciplines, because they enable scientists and engineers to process large amounts of data, represent abstract phenomena, and to model and simulate complex concepts. In order to prepare future engineers with the ability to use computational tools in the context of…

Purpose: This study aimed to create a mobile serious game that incorporates a learning framework, particularly collaborative learning theory, to develop students' computational thinking skills. Methodology: Based on the framework of Brennan and Resnick, an adaptation was made within the context of a mobile serious game mapping the different…

Embodiment is a concept that has gained widespread usage within the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community in recent years. In a general sense, embodiment is the notion that cognition arises not just from the mind, but also through our bodies' physical and social interactions with the world around us. HCI has employed this body-centric…