Emerging Research, Practice, and Policy on Computational Thinking

This book reports on research and practice on computational thinking and the effect it is having on education worldwide, both inside and outside of formal schooling. With coding becoming a required skill in an increasing number of national curricula (e.g., the United Kingdom, Israel, Estonia, Finland), the ability to think computationally is quickly becoming a primary 21st century “basic” domain of knowledge. The authors of this book investigate how this skill can be taught and its resultant effects on learning throughout a student's education, from elementary school to adult learning.

Dr. Peter Rich is an Associate Professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA.  Dr. Rich earned a B.S. in Spanish with a minor in TESOL, after which he went on to earn a PhD in Instructional Technology from the University of Georgia at Athens.  Dr. Rich researches convergent cognition, the synergistic effect that occurs when learners study complementary subjects, such as first and second language and mathematics and computer programming.  His current efforts focus on teaching younger students to learn computing and engineering  and to apply these thinking processes to complementary subjects.  He has taught students from 1st to 8th grade how to code computers and robots.  Over the past 12 years, Dr. Rich has worked with teachers in professional development to refine and reform their teaching practices.  Dr. Rich has published over 2 dozen articles and book chapters, and an edited book on digital video analysis in teacher education.

Dr. Charles B. Hodges is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at Georgia Southern University and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the journal,  TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning. Dr. Hodges earned a B.S. degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from Fairmont State University, a M.S. degree in Mathematics from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. from the Learning Sciences and Technologies program at Virginia Tech.  Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Southern University he was a member of the mathematics faculty at Virginia Tech for 15 years. His research has focused mainly on self-efficacy in technology intensive mathematics courses and the professional development of STEM teachers.  He has published over 30 scholarly works and delivered numerous conference presentations.  He has worked on multiple federally-funded grants and contracts as principal investigator or co-principal investigator.  Most recently he was funded by the National Youth at Risk Center of Georgia Southern University to study Computer Science education rural schools.