Exploring the Characteristics of Digital Pedagogy Model for Developing Computational Thinking in Mathematical Problem Solving

Abstract

Challenges in the 21st century are increasingly complex, technology is developing rapidly and competition is getting tougher. Therefore we need quality human resources that can keep up with and anticipate the times. The use of technology involves computational thinking (CT) skills which are closely related to the problem-solving process. The stages in computational thinking are part of mathematical thinking, meaning that learning mathematics can support students' CT skills. Through the development of digital pedagogical models in CT integrated mathematics learning, it can improve problem-solving skills. This research uses  design based implementation research with 4 phases including; preliminary research, prototyping, results, and design principle. The participants were 28 grade 8 junior high school students who took part in two rounds of experiment in direct CT activities and digital CT activities. In this paper, we present an iterative mathematical problem-solving process in the digital pedagogy model. The computational task, environment, tool and practices were iteratively improved over two rounds to incorporate CT effectively in mathematics. The results from CT environment demonstrated that direct CT activities are more effective than digital CT activities in mathematical problem-solving.  Based on empirical research, we summarize the characteristic of the digital pedagogy model from computational tasks, computational environment and tools, and computational practices in mathematical problem solving.