Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hadad, Roxana

Titel

The Use of Makerspaces for the Development of Computational Thinking Skills and Dispositions

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A foundation in computer science is integral to a student’s understanding of the world today, yet, few K-12 schools are introducing students to what computer science can do to solve problems. Focusing on computational thinking as the process by which to prioritize computer science integration across subjects, and making as the activity used to engage in this process, is a promising way to introduce students to computing. However, there is little understanding or guidance on what practices instructors should employ in maker activities to support student development of computational thinking skills and dispositions. This dissertation is a case study (Stake, 1995) of a day in a summer makerspace program, in which I examine the interactions of four facilitators with seventeen high school-aged participants through video, audio, screen recordings, participant notebooks, and observer field notes. With this study, I seek to answer the question: Within makerspace activities what evidence exists regarding promising practices that support youth development of CT skills and dispositions? I ground my study in the cognitive apprenticeship conceptual framework, which I use as an analytic frame. Findings expand the limited empirical research investigating computational thinking and makerspaces by informing our understanding of practices instructors can utilize in making activities, namely tinkering, embodiment, walkthroughs, drawing, and debugging. With the facilitator’s use of these practices, in conjunction with the utilization of the cognitive apprenticeship methods, participants’ tinkering became more sophisticated, as did demonstrations of their computational thinking skills and dispositions. I discuss implications for future research in order to develop practical resources for educators.