Introduction

Computational thinking is a problem-solving process that requires people to think in new ways to enable effective use of computing to solve problems and create solutions.

For elementary students, the focus on computational thinking are those underlying habits of mind that encourage students to leverage technology to solve problems. For these ages, many of the habits of mind encouraged in problem-based science and mathematics classes already go a long way to lay a foundation for computational thinking. Many activities of this type lend themselves to integration of computational thinking concepts, skills, and practices—and can do so both with and without including technology.

This online handbook describes the model curriculum lessons and units available on this site that provide examples of how to promote computational thinking in elementary students. Included are descriptions of various tasks that do this, and best practices for promoting computational thinking in science and mathematics lessons. Teachers will be able to review how these units promote CT (and can try them out in their classrooms), and both teachers and STEM coordinators can use them as examples for how to integrate CT into other classroom activities.

• A Framework for Integration describes our process for integrating CT into existing materials, and provides ideas for how to integrate CT into existing activities.
• Computational Thinking Concepts describes four key areas of CT (primarily derived from the MA DLCS topics within the Computational Thinking strand): Modeling and Simulation, Data, Abstraction, and Algorithms and Programming. Within this section are highlights from the various IMods of how they address each topic.
• Addressing the Standards shows a detailed comparison of the various standards available (Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science Curriculum Framework, CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics), and how they relate to one another—where they overlap, where they complement, and where they differ.
• Instructional Resources is a list of other instructional materials or articles that may be helpful for further background on CT.