Research On Design-based Learning Model For The Cultivation Of Computational Thinking Ability

With the rapid development of the times,Computational Thinking,as a kind of compound thinking ability to solve problems with information technology,is becoming one of the necessary capabilities for every student.At present,the cultivation of Computational Thinking ability is still in the stage of exploration,which teaching method is more effective to cultivate students’ Computational Thinking ability and how to innovate the instructional model of cultivating students’ Computational Thinking ability is an important problem that education researchers need to solve.Studies have shown that the adoption of Design-Based Learning is helpful to improve students’ Computational Thinking ability and innovation ability.Based on this,this paper attempts to construct a Design-Based Learning model model for the cultivation of Computational Thinking ability.This paper mainly studies the following two problems: First,how to combine Design-Based Learning with Computational Thinking ability to construct a Design-Based Learning model for the cultivation of Computational Thinking ability? Second,how to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the instructional model? Can the instructional model be used to improve the students’ Computational Thinking ability and have a good teaching effect?In order to solve the above problems,this study explores from the following three aspects.The first is theoretical analysis and current research to understand the relevant theories and application practices of Design-Based Learning and Computational Thinking,and to analyze how to integrate Computational Thinking into Design-Based Learning model.Then,the instructional model is constructed.The instructional model is developed from three parts: instructional objectives,teachers’ activities and students’ activities.Among them,the instructional objective is to cultivate students’ Computational Thinking ability.Teacher activities are mainly composed of four modules: challenge,support,design guidance and evaluation feedback.Students’ activities are mainly composed of four modules: challenge of understanding,cooperative inquiry,design and evaluation.The inquiry,design and evaluation link is a circular iterative process,and learners can jump any link according to their needs.Finally,the teaching practice test is carried out.This paper selects two classes of an experimental middle school in Changsha City to carry out the teaching experiment and the teaching content selects the course of “Python programming”.The feasibility and effectiveness of the instructional model are verified by collecting and analyzing the relevant data,such as the pre-test and post-test of Computational Thinking,the group design log,the interview content and students’ score.The experimental results show that: First,the whole level of students’ Computational Thinking ability has been improved,among which the improvement of critical thinking is the most significant.Second,the whole level of Computational Thinking ability of the experimental class is higher than that of the control class,and there is a significant difference.Third,The exam results of the experimental class is slightly higher than that of the control class.It is shown that this instructional model can provide new teaching ideas and methods for front-line teachers to cultivate students’ Computational Thinking ability,which has certain practical value.