Effects of a Computational Thinking Experimental Course on Students' Perceptions of Their Problem-Solving Skills

Abstract

Computational thinking (CT) is an essential skill for students in the 21st century, providing a set of problem-solving methods that involve formulating problems and solutions in a form that can be carried out by an information-processing agent across a variety of fields. In addition, research shows that the integration of CT in education has the potential to improve the problem-solving skills of K-12 students. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a CT experimental course on 94 primary school students' perceptions of their problem-solving skills as well as possible correlations between the variables concerning the students' perceptions. Participants worked in pairs in the context of Scratch, a block-based visual programming language, and the data were collected through the Problem-Solving Inventory for Children (PSIC). A one-group pretest-posttest was conducted and the results suggest that a CT course can improve participants' overall perceptions of their problem-solving skills. Finally, increases in the participants' levels of control over emotions and behavior when facing problems were correlated with increases in their will to face their problems rather than avoid them. © 2020 ACM.