Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets
Computational thinking is a highly appreciated skill by mathematicians. It was forecasted that, in the next few years, half of the jobs in science, mathematics, technology and engineering (abbreviated as STEM, including arts as STEAM) will use some kind of computation. It is therefore necessary to e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Mathematics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/12/2128 |
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| author | Ľubomíra Valovičová Ján Ondruška Ľubomír Zelenický Vlastimil Chytrý Janka Medová |
| author_facet | Ľubomíra Valovičová Ján Ondruška Ľubomír Zelenický Vlastimil Chytrý Janka Medová |
| author_sort | Ľubomíra Valovičová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Computational thinking is a highly appreciated skill by mathematicians. It was forecasted that, in the next few years, half of the jobs in science, mathematics, technology and engineering (abbreviated as STEM, including arts as STEAM) will use some kind of computation. It is therefore necessary to enhance the learning of mathematics by collaborative problem-solving activities focused on both learning mathematics and developing computational thinking. The problems in science offer a reasonable context in which to investigate the common overarching concepts (e.g., measuring the length). An interdisciplinary STEAM collaborative problem-solving activity was designed and piloted with 27 lower secondary students aged 13.07 ± 1.21 years. Different levels of willingness to use the technology were observed and the factors influencing it were identified. We found that strong background knowledge implies high demands when controlling the used device. On the other hand, when a nice and user-friendly application was used, students did not need to perceive any control over it. After the intervention, the students’ views on the tablet changed and they reported more STEAM-related functions of the device. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c538c154eccb4d6c8c5573e88747a678 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mathematics |
| spelling | doaj.art-c538c154eccb4d6c8c5573e88747a6782023-11-20T22:39:24ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902020-11-01812212810.3390/math8122128Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using TabletsĽubomíra Valovičová0Ján Ondruška1Ľubomír Zelenický2Vlastimil Chytrý3Janka Medová4Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, SlovakiaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, SlovakiaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, SlovakiaDepartment of Preschool and Primary Education, Faculty of Education, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, 400 01 Ústí nad Labem, Czech RepublicDepartment of Mathematics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, SlovakiaComputational thinking is a highly appreciated skill by mathematicians. It was forecasted that, in the next few years, half of the jobs in science, mathematics, technology and engineering (abbreviated as STEM, including arts as STEAM) will use some kind of computation. It is therefore necessary to enhance the learning of mathematics by collaborative problem-solving activities focused on both learning mathematics and developing computational thinking. The problems in science offer a reasonable context in which to investigate the common overarching concepts (e.g., measuring the length). An interdisciplinary STEAM collaborative problem-solving activity was designed and piloted with 27 lower secondary students aged 13.07 ± 1.21 years. Different levels of willingness to use the technology were observed and the factors influencing it were identified. We found that strong background knowledge implies high demands when controlling the used device. On the other hand, when a nice and user-friendly application was used, students did not need to perceive any control over it. After the intervention, the students’ views on the tablet changed and they reported more STEAM-related functions of the device.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/12/2128computational thinkingSTEAM educationleisure-time education |
| spellingShingle | Ľubomíra Valovičová Ján Ondruška Ľubomír Zelenický Vlastimil Chytrý Janka Medová Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets Mathematics computational thinking STEAM education leisure-time education |
| title | Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets |
| title_full | Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets |
| title_short | Enhancing Computational Thinking through Interdisciplinary STEAM Activities Using Tablets |
| title_sort | enhancing computational thinking through interdisciplinary steam activities using tablets |
| topic | computational thinking STEAM education leisure-time education |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/12/2128 |
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