ERIC Number: EJ1392278
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
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Abstractor: As Provided
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EISSN: EISSN-1528-5804
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Examining Spaces for Integrating Physics and Computing through Classroom Inquiry
Tofel-Grehl, Colby; Searle, Kristin; Ball, Douglas; Jeong, Soojeong
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal), v23 n2 2023
As computing becomes an essential component of professional practice across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, integration of computing across content areas in K-12 classrooms is also becoming important. Particularly within science classrooms, computer science and computational thinking (CS/CT) are novel and necessary skills for modeling, working with data, and other foundational science skills. Finding ways to engage students in practicing and learning CT within authentic science learning is challenging for most teachers. In this article, the authors report on one teacher's efforts to engage high school students in maker-based physics education, integrating computational thinking by designing and building escape rooms. Escape rooms are puzzle rooms, wherein participants solve a series of linked puzzles to "escape" a locked room. The puzzles were a year-end activity and utilized the physics content students learned throughout the school year. The authors conducted a text analysis of student reflective journals and teacher reflections to understand the affordances and challenges for students with engaging CS/CT in their science class. Findings indicated high levels of student satisfaction with their puzzles and varying degrees of challenge when coding the microprocessors. Students believed that being able to code responses to physics phenomena enriched their peers' experiences of learning physics.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Physics, Elementary Secondary Education, Computation, Computer Science Education, Thinking Skills, High School Students, Science Activities, Puzzles, Student Satisfaction, Coding, Games, Advanced Courses
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. P.O. Box 719, Waynesville, NC 28786. Fax: 828-246-9557; Web site: https://citejournal.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
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Language: English
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