Research On The Cultivation Of Primary School Students’ Computational Thinking Based On The Combination Of Mathematics And Programming

Computational thinking can help students understand the information world and effectively use and create technology to solve problems in life,which is regarded as the basic quality and skills necessary for new talents in the 21 st century.At present,the cultivation of computational thinking in K-12 stage in China is mainly carried out in programming education.The separate programming teaching environment is separated from other subject problems and real-life situations,which is not conducive to the development and migration of students’ computational thinking.Existing research shows that the interdisciplinary integrated design is a new method for cultivating the computational thinking,this study based on interpreting the connotation of the computational thinking and analyzing the current situation of its culture,found the interdisciplinary combination of mathematics and programming may be effective ways to cultivate computational thinking.The core question of this study is "how to based on mathematical framework and programming design interdisciplinary teaching activities,to cultivate the pupils’ calculation thinking?" Design based research is carried out for the core issues,and literature retrieval and analysis,questionnaire survey,semi-structured interview and other research methods are adopted.The research includes four stages: firstly,theoretical analysis.The connotation interpretation of computational thinking and related conceptual models are sorted out to define the meaning of computational thinking in this study.Then,based on the limitations of the current situation of the cultivation of computational thinking,analysis the internal relationship between computational thinking and mathematics teaching and programming teaching,and explain the reasons and feasibility of the combination of the two disciplines.Secondly,literature review,based on the literature review of the teaching strategy of computational thinking,the form and characteristics of interdisciplinary teaching,explores the dimensions and methods of the combination of mathematics and programming as follows: thinking level,with problem solving as the link,emphasizes the logic of problem solving and the diversity of solutions;teaching strategy level,adheres to the project-based teaching,creates mathematical problem situation and programming As a problem-solving tool,it designs the scheme step by step;on the knowledge level,it integrates the knowledge and skills of the two in problem design,and acquires mathematical knowledge and programming skills.Third,the framework design,referring to the existing forms and core elements of interdisciplinary teaching activity design research,combined with the three theoretical basis of computational thinking,interdisciplinary teaching related learning transfer,project-based learning and constructivism,condenses three design points,namely,to design real interdisciplinary problems,to respect the dominant position of students and to adhere to mathematics as the central discipline.Based on the dimensions and design points of the combination of disciplines,an interdisciplinary teaching activity framework for the cultivation of computational thinking is designed from six aspects:the theme and content,the objective,the process,the environment and the evaluation of the activity.Fourthly,the framework application and effect analysis.The research selects the fifthgrade students in a primary school in East China as the research objects and carries out three rounds of iterative experiments.In each round,quantitative data and qualitative data are collected and analyzed,so as to reflect and optimize the framework of teaching activities.The results show that:(1)Based on the data analysis of Bebras International Computational Thinking Test and Computational Perspectives Concepts Scale,it is found that students have been trained in computational concepts,computational practices and computational perspectives,and have developed their understanding of problems,design of schemes,expression of languages and questioning of viewpoints.(2)Based on the automatic analysis of objective math scores and creative works,it is found that students’ math scores and programming skills have been improved,the creativity and complexity of works have gradually increased,and students can create works in connection with real life,and students have developed in problem solving,calculation concept and calculation practice.(3)Based on the classroom observation and after-class interviews,it is found that students have a good acceptance of the interdisciplinary teaching form,and the expression,connection and questioning level of the perspectives of computing have been improved.Moreover,most students say that this teaching form is also helpful for the study of mathematics and English subjects.In conclusion,the framework of interdisciplinary teaching activities based on the combination of mathematics and programming can effectively cultivate the computational thinking of primary school students.