Computational thinking in teacher education
WP2 aims to investigate and understand the opportunities and challenges of introducing CT in TE and to understand the relationship between computational thinking as a generic skill, computational thinking as subject-specific skills, and digital citizenship. Currently, CT education in Denmark is part of a broader crosscurricular subject (Technology Comprehension) which includes both CT and digital citizenship, while in
Norway CT is implemented in specific subjects. However, digital citizenship is a core concept in the Norwegian curriculum as well, oriented around the need for students to understand the digitalization of society (NDET 2019). WP2 will seek to conceptualise and clarify the relationship between digital citizenship and more specific CT skills in both countries.
Drawing on DBR, WP2 develops and examines new ways of teaching and building curricula in Danish and Norwegian TE within the area of CT and digital citizenship, as part of generic and subject-specific skills. The research design will consist of two intervention cycles with four phases each, drawing on the work by Amiel and Reeves (2008):
- Analysis of practical problems by researchers and practitioners in collaboration,
- Development of solutions informed by existing design principles and technological innovations,
- Iterative testing and refinement of solutions in practice, and
- Reflection to produce “design principles” and enhance solution implementation.
The student perspective will inform the evaluation in steps 3 and 4 through student interviews. The first cycle (C1) will be performed by København profesjonshøjskole/University College Copenhagen (KP) (C1- KP). Benefiting from the evaluations and findings from the first cycle, the revised second cycle (C2) will be performed at KP (C2- KP), OsloMet (OM) (C2- OM) and Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN) (C2- INN). The analytical framework for WP2 is built around findings from WP1 augmented by the three key dimensions of CT developed by Resnick: ‘computational concepts’, ‘computational practices’ and ‘computational perspectives’ (Brennan & Resnick, 2012). This framework is used to investigate the wide variety of concepts, practices and perspectives incorporated in the development of new curricula in TE. Data will be collected through video and participant observations, interviews of 40
student teachers and teachers, and student-created artefacts (also linked to WP4 and WP5). Data will be analysed using thematic analysis giving an overview of the whole corpus of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and interaction analysis scrutinizing the trajectories of teaching and assessment practices (Jordan & Henderson, 1995).
RQ2: a) What is the relationship between digital citizenship, generic and subject specific CT skills in TE
RQ2: b) What characterises curricula, teaching and assessment practices of CT in TE in the Nordic countries?
NB! The list is under construction as the workpaskages are not yet consolidated.
| Name | Institution |
| Vibeke Schrøder (Leadet) | KP |
| Siv G. Aalbergsjø (Co-leader) | OsloMet |
| Håkon Swensen | OsloMet |
| Renate Andersen | OsloMet |
| André Rognes | OsloMet |
| Trude Sundtjønn | OsloMet |
| Katarina Pajchel | OsloMet |
| Kristin Ebbesen | INN |
| Thilde Emilie Møller | KP |
| Mads Middelboe Rehder | KP |
| Nisanka U. Mohottige Somarathne | OsloMet |