Background and Context: Computational thinking (CT) is a fundamental skill and a new form of literacy that everyone should develop to participate in civic society. Sequencing and algorithmic thinking are at the core of CT. This study looked into how young children enrolled in a kindergarten in Colombia develop CT skills. Objective: This paper aims…

This study investigates the contribution of plugged and un-plugged activities to primary school students' development of computational thinking skills. The plugged and unplugged activities were used together in this study. In the implementation, in addition to the un-plugged activities prepared by the "Ministry of National Education,"…

This paper examines the implementation of unplugged tasks across different school settings developing computational thinking skills and concepts at upper primary school children in Spain without programming and without using electronic devices. The study is based on qualitative case study design. Across the three case studies/schools --…

Background/purpose. 21st-century skills are essential across all aspects of life in the modern era. Pre-service elementary school teachers must also develop computational thinking skills as part of the problem-solving process--one of the most critical 21st-century competencies. These skills are critical in science learning and serve as fundamental…

This study examined the developmental process of children's computational thinking using block-based programming tools, specifically algorithmic thinking and debugging skills. With this aim, a group of children (N = 191) from two primary schools were studied for two years beginning from the fourth grade, as they engaged in our block-based…

In recent years, modern board games (MBG) have attracted the attention of academics due to their innovative mechanics and mechanisms, which seem to facilitate the creation of spaces for the development of various aspects of computational thinking (CT). This article examines a number of MBG to identify those that contain CT-promoting mechanics. We…

Block-based visual programming tools are widely used in elementary education. Nonetheless, these tools alone may not ensure the spontaneous and efficient acquisition of concepts and skills in computational thinking (CT). Using mind mapping as a form of scaffolding to facilitate the visualization of abstract thinking processes may enhance the…

Background: Empirical studies have revealed students' development of computational thinking (CT) and mathematical thinking (MT) during programming-based mathematical problem-solving, highlighting specific CT concepts or practices that serve as learning goals or outcomes. However, implementing programming-based mathematics instruction requires…

As the impact of digital technologies pervades on our lives at all levels, it is important for students to develop their digital literacy. Computational thinking (CT) education is one pathway helping young students to thrive in the digital world. CT is a critical reasoning process whereby people formulate and solve problems using computers. CT…

The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of both unplugged and plugged coding activities on the computational thinking skills of secondary school students. Using an experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group, the study indicated that students enhanced their computational thinking skills through engagement in…

Background: Computational thinking (CT) has emerged as a critical component of 21st-century skills, and increasing effort was seen in exploring the development of CT skills in K-12 students. Despite cumulative research on exploring students' CT acquisition and its influencing factors, learners' development of the skill over time and the underlying…

This study investigated the effects of the single programming approach (plugged-in and unplugged) and the mixed programming approach (plugged-in-first and unplugged-first) on the computational thinking (CT) skills of first-grade students. However, focusing only on the programming learning approach itself is insufficient. Therefore, the influences…

The increasing amount of research on the effects of digital technology-based learning on elementary school students' computational thinking ability served as the motivation for this study, which sought to clarify the ambiguous difference in effect size between the variables of digital technology-based learning and computational thinking ability.…

As block-based visual programming platform such as Scratch become more accessible and supportive to children's programming learning, the demand on understanding a trajectory of children's computational thinking development through programming from their early ages increases rapidly in recent years. To explore the developmental process of…

Facilitating Computer Science Unplugged (CS-unplugged) activities with reflective thinking activities lead students to in-depth reviews of their decisions and think of ways to solve the CS-unplugged problems. This study aims to evaluate the instruction enriched with reflective thinking activities to develop computational thinking skills. The study…