ERIC Number: EJ1330212
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0735-6331
EISSN: N/A
Structural Validation for the Developmental Model of Computational Thinking
Journal of Educational Computing Research, v60 n1 p56-73 Mar 2022
A prior study developed the Computational Thinking Scale (CTS) for assessing individuals' computational thinking dispositions in five dimensions: decomposition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, evaluation, and generalization. This study proposed the Developmental Model of Computational Thinking through validating the structural relationships among the five factors of the CTS. To examine the model, a questionnaire including the CTS was administered to 472 middle school students. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the construct of the measurements, and a PLS-SEM analysis was used to validate the structural relationships among the factors. The results confirmed that the 19-item CTS has good item reliability, internal consistency, and construct reliability for measuring computational thinking (CT). In the Developmental Model of CT, decomposition and abstraction significantly predict all other three CT dispositions, suggesting that they are the two fundamental factors required for CT development. Moreover, a significant linear prediction path was shown starting from algorithmic thinking, evaluation, until generalization. Thus, a multi-level model was confirmed for the conceptual framework of CT. This model suggests a possible sequence for CT development which may provide a guideline for the teaching objectives of CT for different learning stages in different school levels. Decomposition and abstraction are especially suggested to be emphasized in school curricula before teaching algorithmic thinking or algorithm designs.
Descriptors: Thinking Skills, Problem Solving, Computation, Models, Middle School Students, Test Construction, Test Validity, Test Reliability, Prediction, Grade 8, Grade 9, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Elementary Education; Grade 8; Grade 9; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A