Facilitating Computational Thinking through Digital Fabrication

Curricular changes towards fostering computational thinking through programming activities for students of all ages are spreading rapidly throughout Europe. However, students may be negatively biased or not interested or prepared to engage in such activities. This work proposes digital fabrication within a hands-on pedagogical frame as an approach to engage students in programming activities facilitating the use and understanding of computational thinking concepts. Within the proposed approach, students engage in programming applied to develop tasks from their school curriculum. This paper illustrates the approach through pilot trial experiences at a local junior high school.