Effects of collaborative problem-solving in the development of computational thinking for elementary school students

Abstract

Computational thinking (CT), widely recognized as a cognitive skill for solving problems using computational means, has been increasingly introduced to K-12 education as a global effort because CT has been considered the key to 21st-century skills. Collaborative Problem-solving (CPS) is a common integration in CT education to promote novice learning. However, previous studies showed CPS often does not result in effective learning because of the intertwined social and cognitive processes. There is inadequate evidence-based knowledge as to how CPS influences CT development and how students acquire CT skills during the CPS process. Therefore, the overarching goal of the research is to understand the effects of CPS in CT development in terms of the learning outcome, learning experience, and learning process.

Study one is a systematic meta-analysis comparing the different effects of collaborative and individual problem-solving on CT skills and generating a comprehensive learning design framework to integrate CPS into the teaching and learning practices of CT education. Results show that CPS has significantly favorable results in cognitive and noncognitive CT skills, compared with the individual counterparts. Moderating variables have been revealed as well.

Study two is an experimental study with intervention to examine the effects of CPS on elementary school students in the fourth to sixth grades using Scratch programming. Results show that CPS has significantly promoted the development of CT skills more than the individual learning group and control counterparts. The nuances of different effects in CT sub-skills have been uncovered. Moreover, the students of different genders, prior experiences, and grade levels were able to make consistent CT learning gains. Students’ learning motivation mediated the effects of learning mode (collaborative, individual, and control) in the development of CT skills. CT development through CPS might be afforded by the learning experiences of collaboration, social persuasion, and the unique emotions in collaborative learning.

Study three is a quantitative ethnography examining the collaborative programming process. Results show the fourth-grade students have centered their programming on the design aspect. The learning trajectory was a winding path from the development of concrete ideas to abstract execution, from focusing on the CT concepts to the CT practices. Gender differences lie in the preferences of using different CT concepts by boys and girls. The high-achieving group focused more on programming the artifact specifics, while the low-achieving group focused more on sprite design.

The study contributes to (1) proposing a learning design framework to integrate CPS in CT education, (2) examining the effectiveness of CPS to promote novice learning, and (3) revealing the patterns of the fourth graders’ CT development in terms of the learning trajectory, differences of both genders and different CT levels. Pedagogical, theoretical, and methodological implications have been provided, with limitations and future research directions.