Infusing computational thinking into middle grade science classrooms: lessons learned

Abstract

There is a growing need to present all students with an opportunity to learn computer science and computational thinking (CT) skills during their primary and secondary education. Traditionally, these opportunities are available outside of the core curriculum as stand-alone courses often taken by those with preparatory privilege. Researchers have identified the need to integrate CT into core classes to provide equitable access to these critical skills. We have worked in a research-practice partnership with two magnet middle schools focused on digital sciences to develop and implement computational thinking into life sciences classes. In this report, we present initial lessons learned while conducting our design-based implementation research on integrating computational thinking into middle school science classes. These case studies suggest that several factors including teacher engagement, teacher attitudes, student prior experience with CS/CT, and curriculum design can all impact student engagement in integrated science-CT lessons.