Articulating a Sociocultural Framework for Identifying and Assessing Computational Thinking
Nina Bonderup Dohn · Proceedings. · 2023
The aim of this conceptual paper is to develop a socioculturally informed theoretical framework for identifying and assessing Computational Thinking (CT); with the purpose of providing guidance for educational practice as regards developing specific assessment tasks.Currently, understandings of CT diverge, rendering the identification of CT ambiguous and the foci for assessing CT unclear.Most existing empirical forms of CT-assessments draw on a cognitive approach to CT and emphasize programming skills and/or students' knowledge about computer science concepts.These forms do not clearly meet an engagement condition for CTactivities: that a CT-activity must require learners to engage with algorithmic processes.The framework developed here draws on James Greeno's sociocultural reconceptualization of cognitive phenomena at four different levels.For each level, it is articulated what engagement with algorithms consists in and what criteria for demonstrating engagement are.In addition, examples of assessment tasks at each level are provided.