The Future of Education

The digital revolution is changing not only the ways we live, but the kinds of problems we can pose and solve, and the kinds of jobs that will be available in the future. It has led to the formalization of a way of thinking—computational thinking (CT)—that involves decomposing problems and structuring and communicating solutions in ways that humans can understand and machines can process. This way of thinking has made profound changes in how we formulate and solve scientific, economic, social, and environmental challenges. It is therefore not surprising that many are touting computing as the “4th R” for 21st century citizenry. In the United States, educators and policy-makers are pressing for policies and infrastructures to ensure equitable computer science education throughout the K–12 grade span. One area of particular challenge is to create opportunities for elementary-grade children to develop the foundational CT skills and practices that support later CS learning. These skills and practices include, but are not limited to, learning about coding. Curriculum developers and teacher educators are turning to integrated curriculum as a strategy for providing equitable access to opportunities for developing CT practices and skills.
We will report on a collaboration in Massachusetts, USA, between teacher educators, researchers, teachers, and State-level education administrators to develop and implement elementary grade science and mathematics units that integrate CT. Collectively, these units focus on developing practices related to several key aspects of CT—abstraction, data, modeling and simulation, and algorithmic thinking. While some units involve coding activities, the bulk of our effort has been focused on cultivating the problem posing and problem-solving skills and practices that are central to thinking computationally.
We will describe our approach to curriculum development, present some examples of integrated lessons, and share some challenges we have observed among the teachers who have implemented these materials. Finally, we will discuss ideas about moving CT integration forward, including a call for more professional development for teachers and the need for more conceptual work by researchers and educators regarding the developmental trajectory of CT in elementary school years and beyond.

Keywords: computational thinking, disciplinary integration, elementary, science, elementary mathematics;