Lesson Planning by Computational Thinking Skills in Italian Pre-service Teachers

In the last years, a growing trend in different educational contexts focused on Computational Thinking (CT) skills acquisition for both in-service teachers and students. But very low attention has been paid to pre-service teachers' education in regards to CT skills. To solve this issue, an empi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Informatics in education 2019-01, Vol.18 (1), p.69-104
Main Authors: GABRIELE, Lorella, Bertacchini, Francesca, TAVERNISE, Assunta, VACA-CÁRDENAS, Leticia, PANTANO, Pietro, Bilotta, Eleonora
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coding
Computation
Computer Literacy
Computer Oriented Programs
Computer Science Education
Computer Software
Computer Uses in Education
Design
digital literacy
Education
Educational Practices
Emotional factors
Emotional Response
Experimentation
Foreign Countries
ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Information Architecture
Lesson Plans
outcomes of education
Preservice Teacher Education
Preservice Teachers
Programming
Programming Languages
Psychological Patterns
School education
Skill Development
Skills
Teacher education
Teachers
Teaching Methods
Thinking Skills
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Summary:In the last years, a growing trend in different educational contexts focused on Computational Thinking (CT) skills acquisition for both in-service teachers and students. But very low attention has been paid to pre-service teachers' education in regards to CT skills. To solve this issue, an empirical experimentation has been carried out with141 Italian pre-service teachers, that attended at a programming course, with the following aims: 1) provide them the main coding concepts by using Scratch 2.0; 2) offer practical advice on how to design educational applications (apps) to be applied into school context; 3) assess their apps by applying an already existing methodology, useful to give them feedback on their programming expertise and CT skills. Empirical findings showed that most of the participants achieved a medium-high level of CT skills, combining both design and programming skills in their school internship. Moreover, they reported a sense of greater self-esteem in teaching practice and a great emotional response from kids.
ISSN:1648-5831
2335-8971
DOI:10.15388/infedu.2019.04