Imposing Student Use and Development of Computational Thinking Skills During a Technological/Engineering Design-Based Learning (T/E DBL) Challenge

Abstract

While both computational thinking and design learning have gained interest with teachers, administrators, policy makers, and educational researchers alike, the cross sections of these fields are still largely unexplored, especially within the context of middle school and early adolescent development. The purpose of the exploratory case study was to investigate the development and usage of key computational thinking skills while middle school students were engaged in technological/engineering design based learning (T/E DBL). Middle school technology education and agriscience students in both rural and suburban schools in Virginia were tasked with a series of increasingly complex tasks using a precision agricultural robotic system that operates in three dimensions. Each task built on prior knowledge and had embedded meaningful science, mathematics, engineering, and technology components that tie in authentically, enabling students to integrate prior knowledge and new information needed to design solutions. The following question and sub-questions were used to guide this research study: RQ: When implemented as part of middle school technology and agriscience education, what evidence demonstrates that technological/engineering design based learning (T/E DBL) promotes student use and development of key computational thinking skill types? RQ-S1: While progressing through a series of STEMbot modules requiring the completion of increasingly complex robotics tasks, to what extent do students demonstrate their: Usage of computational thinking skills? Development of computational thinking skills? RQ-S2: What relationships exist between student progression through increasingly complex STEMbot robotics tasks and their demonstrated development of key computational thinking skill types? Quantitative and qualitative sources included a pre and post knowledge acquisition questionnaire, student response documents, exit tickets, and verbal reflection feedback. These extant data from the STEMbot Design Based Biotechnical Learning project (IRB #22-856) will be analyzed employing a sequential, mixed-method research design. Results indicated statistically significant development of students' computational thinking skills as students progressed through increasingly complex robotics design tasks. These findings demonstrate that engagement in technological/engineering design based learning promotes the development of computational thinking skills, particularly when tasks increase in complexity.