In this episode I unpack Mills et al.’s (2021) publication titled “Computational thinking for an inclusive world: A resource for educators to learn and lead,” which is a white paper that provides strategies for integrating CT into disciplinary learning for for developing capacity for computational thinking.

Click here for this episode’s show notes.

How to Get Started with Computer Science Education

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00:00 Intro01:05 Abstract

02:10 My single sentence summary

02:38 Overview of recommendations

03:45 Paper introduction

05:14 What is computational thinking?

08:57 The current state of computing education

13:09 Reimagining computational thinking to be more inclusive

15:49 What districts should focus on: Integrate learning and develop capacity

17:10 Strategy #1: Leverage Synergies Between Disciplinary Learning and CT

17:47 Strategy #2: Develop Computational Thinking Skills in the Younger Grades

18:09 Strategy #3: Promote Student Agency and Purpose

21:44 Develop capacity for computational thinking

22:01 Strategy #1: Promote Shared Leadership Among Districts, Schools and Teachers

25:32 Strategy #2: Develop Sustained, Individualized Professional Learning Opportunities

25:56 Strategy #3: Integrate Computational Thinking into Pre-Service Teacher Education

27:08 Lingering questions and thoughts

27:48 When is computational thinking and the discourse around it a form of epistemological colonization?

29:07 Discourse around CT sometimes comes across as reifying a collection of tools, but it’s not a heuristic or process to think through.

31:10 I think it would be useful as a field to define when something is not computational thinking

32:53 Outro