Students’ in-moment challenges and developing maker perspectives during problem-based digital making

Abstract

We report on a case study of eight grade 5 to 6 students (ages 12–14) involved in a three-day “digital-making summer camp” focused on mathematical problem-solving through block-based programming combined with programmable electronics. Data analysis focused on the computational thinking (CT), mathematics, and problem-solving challenges that surfaced during the activities and on the students’ developing perspectives about themselves as computational thinkers and problem solvers. Our results suggest the students developed various CT and problem-solving competences and dispositions during the digital-making activities. However, they experienced difficulties with ill-structured problems. This study supports the creative uses of digital making as complementary to K-12 mathematics learning.