| CODE | EPE3014 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Computational Thinking and Skills | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Early Childhood and Primary Education | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit introduces prospective primary teachers to Computational Thinking (CT) or what Wing (2010) calls 鈥渢he new literacy of the 21st century鈥�. CT describes the thought processes involved in formulating problems and in constructing or decomposing the sequential steps of a solution in a form that a computer, a human, or a combination of both can execute. Through this unit, students will explore different ways of introducing CT concepts to children in primary schools. Different strategies that will be discussed include: unplugged activities - activities that do not require any devices and plugged activities - activities that use age-appropriate programming environments that students can use as a means of self-expression. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this unit is to equip prospective primary teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively introduce and integrate Computational Thinking concepts into their teaching practices through the examination and implementation of various unplugged and plugged teaching strategies. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the concept of Computational Thinking and its importance in 21st century education; - Identify the key components of Computational Thinking and their relevance in problem-solving and decision-making; - Describe the benefits and limitations of using unplugged and plugged activities to teach Computational Thinking to primary school students; - Analyze and evaluate the appropriateness of different programming environments for use in primary school classrooms; - Reflect on the impact of using different teaching strategies on students' understanding and engagement with Computational Thinking concepts; - Demonstrate the ability to use age-appropriate programming environments as a means of self-expression; - Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between traditional programming approaches and data-driven AI; - Evaluate the effectiveness of their own teaching strategies in facilitating Computational Thinking in primary school students. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Develop and design effective unplugged activities that promote computational thinking concepts in primary school students; - Implement unplugged activities in a classroom setting and modify activities as needed to suit student needs; - Apply knowledge of sequence and iteration constructs to design and code block-based programs that solve problems and accomplish tasks; - Apply knowledge of event-driven programming to develop interactive stories and games in Scratch Jr and Scratch; - Utilize coding skills to program simple robots to perform specific tasks; - Assess the effectiveness of unplugged activities, block-based coding programs, interactive stories, robots and games in promoting computational thinking skills and adjust accordingly. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text - Wells, D., Uppal, G., & Morris, D. (2017). Teaching computational thinking and coding in primary schools. Teaching Computational Thinking and Coding in Primary Schools, 1-216. Supplementary Texts - Bers, M. U. (2017). Coding as a playground: Programming and computational thinking in the early childhood classroom. Routledge. - Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. MIT press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Leonard Busuttil |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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