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Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling
written by John M. Aiken, Marcos D. Caballero, Scott S. Douglas, John B. Burk, Erin M. Scanlon, Brian D. Thoms, and Michael F. Schatz
Recently, the National Research Council's framework for next generation science standards highlighted "computational thinking" as one of its "fundamental practices". 9th Grade students taking a physics course that employed the Arizona State University's Modeling Instruction curriculum were taught to construct computational models of physical systems. Student computational thinking was assessed using a proctored programming assignment, written essay, and a series of think-aloud interviews, where the students produced and discussed a computational model of a baseball in motion via a high-level programming environment (VPython). Roughly a third of the students in the study were successful in completing the programming assignment. Student success on this assessment was tied to how students synthesized their knowledge of physics and computation. On the essay and interview assessments, students displayed unique views of the relationship between force and motion; those who spoke of this relationship in causal (rather than observational) terms tended to have more success in the programming exercise.
Physics Education Research Conference 2012
Part of the PER Conference series
Philadelphia, PA: August 1-2, 2012
Volume 1513, Pages 46-49
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Practices
- Active Learning
= Modeling
- Technology
General Physics
- Computational Physics
Other Sciences
- Computer Science
- High School
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789648
Access Rights:
Free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2012 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.4789648
NSF Numbers:
0618519
0942076
PACSs:
01.50.ht
01.30.Cc
Keywords:
Computational Modeling, Computational Thinking, Modeling Instruction, PERC 2012
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created February 21, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
December 17, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
January 24, 2013
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Record Link
AIP Format
J. Aiken, M. Caballero, S. Douglas, J. Burk, E. Scanlon, B. Thoms, and M. Schatz, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214).
AJP/PRST-PER
J. Aiken, M. Caballero, S. Douglas, J. Burk, E. Scanlon, B. Thoms, and M. Schatz, Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214>.
APA Format
Aiken, J., Caballero, M., Douglas, S., Burk, J., Scanlon, E., Thoms, B., & Schatz, M. (2012, August 1-2). Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214
Chicago Format
Aiken, J, M. Caballero, S. Douglas, J. Burk, E. Scanlon, B. Thoms, and M. Schatz. "Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, August 1-2, 2012. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214 (accessed 19 March 2024).
MLA Format
Aiken, John, Marcos D. Caballero, Scott Douglas, John Burk, Erin Scanlon, Brian Thoms, and Michael Schatz. "Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling." Physics Education Research Conference 2012. Philadelphia, PA: 2012. 46-49 Vol. 1513 of PER Conference. 19 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "John Aiken and Marcos D. Caballero and Scott Douglas and John Burk and Erin Scanlon and Brian Thoms and Michael Schatz", Title = {Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2012}, Pages = {46-49}, Address = {Philadelphia, PA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1513}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2012} }
Refer Export Format

%A John Aiken %A Marcos D. Caballero %A Scott Douglas %A John Burk %A Erin Scanlon %A Brian Thoms %A Michael Schatz %T Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling %S PER Conference %V 1513 %D August 1-2 2012 %P 46-49 %C Philadelphia, PA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Aiken, John %A Caballero, Marcos D. %A Douglas, Scott %A Burk, John %A Scanlon, Erin %A Thoms, Brian %A Schatz, Michael %D August 1-2 2012 %T Understanding student computational thinking with computational modeling %B Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %C Philadelphia, PA %V 1513 %P 46-49 %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12626&DocID=3214


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