Computational thinking

Computational thinking is an interrelated set of skills and practices for solving complex problems, a way
to learn topics in many disciplines, and a necessity for fully participating in a computational world.

Many different terms are used when talking about computing, computer science, computational thinking,
and programming. Computing encompasses the skills and practices in both computer science and
computational thinking. While computer science is an individual academic discipline, computational
thinking is a problem-solving approach that integrates across activities, and programming is the practice
of developing a set of instructions that a computer can understand and execute, as well as debugging,
organizing, and applying that code to appropriate problem-solving contexts. The skills and practices
requiring computational thinking are broader, leveraging concepts and skills from computer science and
applying them to other contexts, such as core academic disciplines (e.g. arts, English language arts, math,
science, social studies) and everyday problem solving. For educators integrating computational thinking
into their classrooms, we believe computational thinking is best understood as a series of interrelated
skills and competencies.

Teaching Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition, as a cornerstone of computational thinking, begins with the basic ABAB pattern
creation that is taught in the primary grades and extends to more complex layers of thinking. Pattern
recognition invites students to analyze similar objects or experiences and identify commonalities. By
finding what the objects or experiences have in common, young students can begin to develop an
understanding of trends and are therefore able to make predictions.

Teaching Abstraction

Abstraction is focusing on the information that is relevant and important. It involves separating core
information from extraneous details.

Teaching Algorithms

Algorithmic thinking involves developing solutions to a problem. Specifically, it creates sequential rules
to follow in order to solve a problem. In the early grades, kids can learn that the order of how something
is done can have an effect.