Rosie Revere’s Orangutan Dilemma: Integrating Computational Thinking through Engineering Practices

For many years computational thinking has been taught in elementary/primary education classrooms in other countries, but in the U.S. this has only been a focus within the past few years due to the drastic shortage of computer scientists. Early exposure to computational thinking has been shown to motivate students to pursue STEM careers, especially computer science (Jin, Haynie, & Kearns, 2016). Despite this recent focus on teaching computational thinking in the early grades, many U.S. teachers still lack innovative pedagogical approaches to deliver these concepts. In the U.S., computational thinking at the elementary level is often taught using pre-assembled devices or virtual simulations/games programmed via drag and drop software (e.g., Scratch, Hour of Code). More engaging approaches that encourage inquiry and creativity when teaching computer science concepts are needed in U.S. elementary classrooms (Jin et al., 2016). In this article we present a design challenge focused on teaching third and fourth grade students computational thinking skills based on a scenario from a children’s book. The nature of this lesson lends itself to be modified for other grade levels or contexts to integrate literacy and computational thinking through authentic engineering design scenarios.

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Work Title Rosie Revere’s Orangutan Dilemma: Integrating Computational Thinking through Engineering Practices
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Tyler S. Love
  2. Carolyn J. Griess
Keyword
  1. Coding
  2. Engineering Design
  3. Literacy
  4. Computational Thinking
  5. STEM
  6. Elementary Education
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. National Science Teaching Association
Publication Date December 2020
Subject
  1. Science--Study and teaching--Activity programs
Language
  1. English
Geographic Area
  1. United States
Deposited February 22, 2020

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added The_Orangutan_Engineering_Challenge_in_press.pdf
  • Added Creator Tyler S. Love
  • Added Creator Carolyn J. Griess
  • Published
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Version 2
published

  • Created
  • Updated Work Title, Geographic Area, Publication Date Show Changes
    Work Title
    • Rosie Revere’s Orangutan Dilemma: Integrating Computational Thinking through Engineering Practices in the Elementary Classroom
    • Rosie Revere’s Orangutan Dilemma: Integrating Computational Thinking through Engineering Practices
    Geographic Area
    • United States
    Publication Date
    • 2020-12
  • Added Science&Children_Love&Griess_November2020.pdf
  • Deleted The_Orangutan_Engineering_Challenge_in_press.pdf
  • Updated License Show Changes
    License
    • http://www.europeana.eu/portal/rights/rr-r.html
    • https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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