ERIC Number: EJ1295123
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jul
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0735-6331
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Computational Thinking Scale for Computer Literacy Education
Tsai, Meng-Jung; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Hsu, Chung-Yuan
Journal of Educational Computing Research, v59 n4 p579-602 Jul 2021
Computational thinking has received tremendous attention from computer science educators and educational researchers in the last decade. However, most prior literature defines computational thinking as thinking outcomes rather than thinking processes. Based on Selby and Woodland's framework, this study developed and validated the Computational Thinking Scale (CTS) to assess all students' thought processes of computational thinking for both general and specific problem-solving contexts in five dimensions: abstraction, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, evaluation and generalization. A survey including 25 candidate items for CTS as well as demographic variables was administered to 388 junior high school students in Taiwan. An explorative factor analysis using the principal axis method with the oblimin rotation was used to validate the scale. Finally, 19 items were extracted successfully under the designed five dimensions, with a total explained variance of 64.03% and an overall reliability of 0.91. Results of the demographic comparisons showed that boys had a greater disposition than girls in decomposition thinking when solving problems using computer programming. In addition, programming learning experience, especially self-directed learning and after-school learning, had significant positive effects on all dimensions of CTS. Several future studies are suggested using this tool.
Descriptors: Computation, Thinking Skills, Skill Development, Technological Literacy, Test Validity, Cognitive Processes, Junior High School Students, Foreign Countries, Factor Analysis, Test Reliability, Gender Differences, Programming, Learning Experience
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A