Scaffolding young children's computational thinking with teacher talk in a technology-mediated classroom

Abstract

Although studies have shown that computational thinking (CT) can enhance learning processes and outcomes across traditional subjects, they have not shown how teachers might scaffold children's CT processes in a technology-mediated learning context. This exploratory study examined how teacher talk and technologies impacted the CT of three children (6 to 8 years old). Seven videotaped 90-minute sessions of weekly project-based activities yielded 4,842 turns of talk (2,974 by children). Statistical discourse analysis revealed the following results. After a teacher command, the children more often executed a sequence of actions toward a solution but less often demonstrated problem understanding than otherwise. Following a teacher's open question, the children were more likely to offer logically organized ideas. In response to a teacher's rhetorical question, they more often searched for information. These results inform educators regarding when to use each type of teacher talk to scaffold children's CT processes.