Abstract:

Curiosity and grit are increasingly recognized as essential socio-emotional competencies that foster resilience, persistence, and deep learning in higher education. Curiosity stimulates exploration, questioning, and intrinsic motivation, while grit sustains perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability in the face of challenges. Despite their relevance, these constructs are rarely integrated into engineering curricula in a systematic way.

This paper presents a narrative review of studies published between 2015 and 2025 that examine curiosity, grit, and computational thinking (CT) in educational contexts. Evidence highlights the accessibility and motivational potential of unplugged CT activities, which use narrative-driven, gamified, and problem-based approaches to engage students without requiring advanced technology. Psychological research validates curiosity through the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (CEI-II) (2009) and grit through Datu’s Triarchic Grit Scale (2017), offering reliable tools for measurement.

The review identifies a gap in higher education research: few interventions systematically combine validated psychological measures with unplugged CT activities to promote socio-emotional growth. While CT has been widely studied as a cognitive skill, its potential as a framework for developing curiosity and grit remains underexplored.

Based on this gap, the paper proposes a semester-long intervention in Chilean engineering courses. The intervention integrates unplugged CT activities—such as escape rooms and algorithmic expeditions—with validated instruments, observation rubrics, and reflective diaries to measure and foster curiosity and grit. Activities are designed to stimulate exploration and questioning, strengthen perseverance in debugging and problem-solving, and enhance adaptability to unexpected changes.

Findings from the literature suggest that unplugged CT can effectively promote curiosity and perseverance, though consistency of interests requires additional strategies, such as extended projects with intermediate rewards. The proposed intervention positions CT not only as a cognitive framework but also as a socio-emotional catalyst, fostering resilient and adaptive learners in STEM contexts.

This contribution aligns with EDULEARN 2026 topics on Educational Trends and Experiences, particularly within the subtheme of STEM Education Experiences. By integrating unplugged computational thinking activities with validated psychological instruments, the paper offers a replicable model for embedding socio-emotional competencies into STEM curricula. The proposed intervention bridges cognitive and affective dimensions of learning, fostering resilient, curious, and perseverant learners prepared to face the challenges of higher education and professional practice in an increasingly complex world.

Keywords:

Computational Thinking, Unplugged Activities, Curiosity, Grit, STEM Education.