Computational Numeracy (CN) for Under-Prepared, Novice Programming Students

Abstract

Numeracy has become a critically important skill in data rich environments. A large number of first-year ICT students entering HEIs in South Africa lack computational thinking and problem-solving skills and consequently they are not prepared for programming. Many of these students are not proficient enough in numeracy to solve programming problems that require knowledge and understanding of numeracy concepts. A new concept, Computational Numeracy (CN) for under-prepared, novice programming students, is presented in this article. The purpose of this conceptual article is to show how the components of Computational Numeracy were developed by exploring and reviewing its basic building blocks: computational thinking and numeracy. A critical synthesis of published research related to numeracy and computational thinking related to programming skills to define Computational Numeracy for under-prepared, novice programming students, is presented. Six components of computational thinking were selected and mapped to numeracy in a typical programming problem to demonstrate the links between computational thinking and numeracy and how it can be seen as CN. Future research includes the development of a framework to guide lecturers at HEIs on how to teach CN to under-prepared, novice program ming students.