Computational Thinking: Teachers’ Practice of Abstraction
Ali D. Asif, Hamza Malik, Chandra Hawley Orrill, Ramprasad Balasubramanian, Shakhnoza Kayumova · Proceedings. · 2024
Elementary grade teachers are often not fully prepared to teach a computing-rich curriculum, and the demand of the digital age to integrate Computational Thinking (CT) into their classrooms has put them at a challenge.Under the larger umbrella, abstraction lies at the heart of CT.Abstraction allows moving between various information levels while targeting complex problems and creating rich design solutions.This study focuses on how one pair of elementary-grade teachers collaborated, using abstraction to solve a maze challenge, helping each other move between different layers of information.The videotaped data of one day of teachers' professional development was analyzed through three dimensions of Community of Practice (CoP).Results suggest that through mutual engagement in pursuing a joint enterprise and their shared repertoire, elementary-grade teachers moved their focus between different levels of abstraction simultaneously and effectively.