Children's computational thinking as the development of a possibility space

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how the theoretical notion of possibility space offers a way to study how children's computational thinking develops as a process. Drawing on embodied notions of cognition, we first examine the literature that supports how children's computational thinking emerges as a possibility space that involves conceptualizing possible actions in a given moment, deciding which action to take by anticipating the results of a possible action, and learning from the actions that they have taken. We then use a grounded approach to analyze the problem-solving process of two 5th-grade children who engaged in an educational robotics activity over two 50-minute class periods. The findings lend support for approaching children's computational thinking as a cycle of action-taking that includes conceptualizing, anticipating, and taking action. The findings also support the pedagogical practice of having children predict the results of a computer program to enhance their computational thinking. Implications for the way that teachers can support children in learning to conceptualize what is possible and take action from it are discussed.