arXiv (Cornell University) · 2017 · 57 citations · 0 references
Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which\neveryone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour\nPapert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since\nWing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international\ncommunity's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in\neducation. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and\neducation researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the\ndomain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist.\n Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work\ncurrently being done around the world in many different educational contexts,\nthe work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create\nan agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of,\nor have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of\neducation. It was also found that Computer Science/Computing, which could be\nthe most obvious place to teach CT, has yet to become a mainstream subject in\nsome countries, although this is improving. Of encouragement to educators is\nthe wealth of tools and resources being developed to help teach CT as well as\nmore and more work relating to curriculum development. For those teachers\nlooking to incorporate CT into their schools or classes then there are\nbountiful options which include programming, hands-on exercises and more. The\nneed for more detailed lesson plans and curriculum structure however, is\nsomething that could be of benefit to teachers.\n