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5 Open Questions
Pages 59-64

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From page 59...
... Given this divergence in individual emphases, one possibility concerning structure is that computational thinking is simply the union of these different views -- a laundry list of different characteristics. On the other hand, such a perspective would be both incoherent and deeply unsatisfying to most workshop participants, and there was general agreement that a more coherent perspective is needed.
From page 60...
... In Ursula Wolz's words, "What does it mean to create teachers who have that kind of 1 Thomas Cortina, 2007, "An Introduction to Computer Science for Non-majors Using Principles of Computation," Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Proceed ings of the 38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Covington, Kentucky. ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education, March 7-10, 2007, pp.
From page 61...
... . to make sure that what we are doing is teaching them how to read and write, not how to do phonics." Several workshop participants noted the importance of context in computational thinking, expressing the view that just as learning arithmetic goes beyond more than knowing the algorithms of addition and multiplication to being able to apply these algorithms in real-world situ ations, being a competent computational thinker must include the ability to apply computational thinking to actual problems.
From page 62...
... Recent exploratory research on technology-enhanced learning suggests that computers can facilitate this process by guiding students as they explore complex problems, use scientific visualization, and collaborate with peers.3 Such learning environments may also increase the effectiveness of teachers by synthesizing results from embedded assessments, allowing teachers to monitor progress in real time, and by handling routine tasks. Exploring these questions will be a major focus of the committee's second workshop.
From page 63...
... cognitive and intellectual connection between computational thinking and computer science as a subject of study, the role of computer science as a discipline and as a community of individuals who call themselves computer scientists in defining and structuring the content of computational thinking is much less clear. For example, Robert Constable noted that today, university-level dis cussions regarding computational thinking education (or, more precisely, computing)
From page 64...
... " he states, "My more serious concern with our society's odd fluency with a technology that we cannot easily communicate about is that it might slowly stifle innovation."4 As an example, he notes that a person who is able to fluidly navigate an application does not necessarily understand anything about what is going on underneath the hood. Others argued that computational thinking is inherently multidisciplinary.


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