Towards a Hermeneutics of Computational Thinking in Wing’s Approximations

Abstract

In this article, we delve into a hermeneutic process that analyzes the term Computational Thinking as it was constructed through Wing’s series of iterations in conceptualization attempts (2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014). On the one hand, this brings us to analyze the relations and intersections between different process of thought (analytical, logical, mathematical, system, engineering, algorithmic) and the role of search for simplicity, generalization, and scalability in the layers of abstraction in Computational Thinking. On the other hand, we explore the roots and the discursive environment of authors that could contribute to this conceptualizing process in the years around its popularization following Jeannette Wing’s founding article in 2006. We have also included in our analysis the points of convergence with Seymour Papert’s work related to the computer-machine seen as an “object-to-think-with” helping to the construction of knowledge from an epistemological perspective to the computing-human. Even though a consensus on the definition of the concept has not yet ben encountered, the analysis helps to highlight the solid reference points that address what is at the core of Computational thinking and what should be the framework of educational interventions and research that revolve around it.