Abstract:

This article aims to develop a framework for the teacher, who are planning computer science activities and want to teach it effectively.

Despite a growing effort to implement computational thinking (CT) skills in primary schools, only a few studies reported which CT skills are learnable at what age. Computational Thinking is a new form of literacy, defined as a set of cognitive skills which involves problem-solving, abstraction, using algorithms, restructuring processes, reformulating problems, implementing solutions. Seymour Papert hypothesised this way of thinking when reflecting on the relationship between computers and children in his works (Papert, 1993, 2003). Then, in the last decade, Wing (2006) proposed that CT “entails solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behaviour, by drawing on the concept, fundamental to computer science”. While specifying this concept, considerable attention was gained by the educational environment, because of the primary role it has in educating to the active citizenship and conducting to the labour market.

Many countries developed the computer science curriculum and implemented this subject, in some cases, starting from the elementary school. The lack of computer stations and infrastructural problems allows that unplugged activities were thought and carried out. The global interest in teaching the first principles of Computer Science conducted to the creation of websites and platforms in which, in a few steps, everyone can write a code line.

Assessment criteria were also investigated, and related studies lead to assessment frameworks, generally adopted by the scientific community.

Meaningful for this topic is the teachers’ role. Generally, computer science is not included in the study plan of the education faculties, but, once at school, teachers have to deal with this subject.

Consequently, the research questions are focused on these three observable aspects of computational thinking, and are:
1) How abstraction, decomposition and using algorithms can be observable in primary school students?
2) According to the psychological evidence, at what age are these cognitive skills observable and in which tasks?

In order to find the answers, a systematic literature review will be pursued. The articles found in database Psycarticles, Web of Science and Scopus and related to this topic will be analysed according to the following categories: relevance to computational thinking, task, age, observable behaviour. Inclusion criteria will comprehend full paper published in peer-reviewed journals, the relevance to elementary school, the involvement of psychological and didactical aspects. Abstracts, articles related to higher grade of school or not relevant to the subject will be excluded.

The results are, then, discussed in the light of the most recent cognitive psychology findings and and they will lead to recognise what further investigation is needed.

The framework aims to help teachers in developing CT projects in a more effective way and in recognising these cognitive skills in children behaviour.

Keywords:

Computational Thinking, primary school, cognitive processes.