A4 Refereed article in a conference publication

Development of Digital Learning Materials to Promote Computational Thinking Skills in Grades 1-9




AuthorsLehtonen, Daranee; Parviainen, Marika; Kaarto, Heidi; Räsänen, Pekka; Dagienė, Valentina

EditorsGómez Chova, Luis; González Martínez, Chelo; Lees, Joanna

Conference nameInternational Technology, Education and Development Conference

PublisherIATED

Publication year2025

Journal: INTED proceedings

Book title INTED2025 Proceedings

Volume19

First page 6643

Last page6650

ISBN978-84-09-70107-0

ISSN2340-1087

eISSN2340-1079

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2025.1720

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability No Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2025.1720


Abstract

Computational thinking, defined as the ability to understand complex problems and effectively develop solutions to the problems, is an important skill needed for 21st century work and daily life. Many European curricula, for example, Spanish and Lithuanian curricula, have emphasised computational thinking as one of the most important skills to teach students. In addition, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently included computational thinking in its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as part of mathematics literacy. In this paper, we describe our efforts to promote computational thinking in Finnish primary and lower secondary schools (Grades 1–9). We developed learning materials in a digital learning environment, which offers immediate feedback for students and comprehensive learning analytics for teachers from automatically assessed exercises. We first introduce computational thinking skills and summarise the current Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (primary and lower secondary schools) in relation to computational thinking skills. Then, we introduce the new digital learning materials that we developed with some examples. Finally, we describe the development process and piloting of our learning materials with the pilot initial results. Therefore, this paper illustrates one practical educational solution developed based on curriculum analysis and pilot data.




Last updated on 2025-09-12 at 09:22