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tandfonline.com – Computerized adaptive assessment of understanding of programming concepts in primary school children

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Background and Context. Valid assessment of understanding of programming concepts in primary school children is essential to implement and improve programming education. Objective. We developed and validated the Computerized Adaptive Programming Concepts Test (CAPCT) with a novel application of Item Response Theory. The CAPCT is a web-based and resource-efficient adaptive assessment of 4489 questions measuring: the understanding of basic sequences, loops, conditions (if & if-else statements), debugging, multiple agents, procedures, and the ability to generalize to a new syntax. Method. Data was collected through an existing online adaptive practice and monitoring system called Math Garden. We collected 14 million responses from 93,341 Dutch children (ages 4 – 13). Findings. The CAPCT demonstrated good psychometric qualities because 75% of… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Stories from the field: locating and cultivating computational thinking in spaces of learning

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT There is considerable debate and ambiguity around what constitutes “computational thinking” (CT). In contrast to Computer Science which is generally treated as a distinct field of study, CT as a construct highlights the integral relationship between computing and other fields. Many recent efforts seek to map computational thinking by making high-level connections to other school disciplines. We argue that while these efforts may help identify specific curricular areas in which computing is likely to take place, they do not sufficiently capture the specificity and dynamism that is characteristic of meaningful computational integration. Worse, they exclude generative examples of computing integration that exist outside of the traditional STEM context or researcher-led efforts. In this special issue, we offer a… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Development of computational thinking, digital competence and 21st century skills when learning programming in K-9

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Teachers around the world have started teaching programming at the K-9 level, some due to the formal introduction of programming in the national curriculum, others without such pressure and on their own initiative. In this study, we attempted to understand which skills – both CT-related and general – are developed among pupils in the process of working with programming in schools. To do so, we interviewed 19 Swedish teachers who had been teaching programming for a couple of years on their own initiative. The teachers were selected based on their experience in teaching programming. Our thematic analysis of these interviews shed light on what skills teachers perceive pupils develop when programming. This led us to identify three themes… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – Exploring the intersection of algebraic and computational thinking

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT Formulae display:?Mathematical formulae have been encoded as MathML and are displayed in this HTML version using MathJax in order to improve their display. Uncheck the box to turn MathJax off. This feature requires Javascript. Click on a formula to zoom. ABSTRACT This article investigates how the recent implementation of programming in school mathematics interacts with algebraic thinking and learning. Based on Duval’s theory of semiotic representations, we analyze in what ways syntax and semantics of programming languages are aligned with or divert from corresponding algebraic symbolism. Three examples of programming activities suggested for school mathematics are discussed in detail. We argue that although the semiotic representations of programming languages are similar to algebraic notation the meanings of several concepts… Continue Reading