Five key computational thinking competencies organizing K-12 content

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 design), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

The pathway conceptualizes content at every grade level as relating to one of five competencies: "Abstraction, Data Collection and Analysis, Algorithmic Thinking, Building Models & Simulations, and Decomposition." This gives the district a common competency spine for vertically and horizontally aligning CT across grades, from Pre-K through high school, and a frame students can use to articulate how CT integrates into classroom practice.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• A shared district definition of computational thinking usable in all K-12 contexts
• Mapping of competencies to state standards (Alabama DLCS) and vertical/horizontal alignment

Constraints

Target Learners

• K-12 students

Learning Goals

• Computational thinking: abstraction, data collection and analysis, algorithmic thinking, building models and simulations, decomposition

Claims

• A district produced an inclusive computational thinking pathway document through a participatory, teacher-represented development process spanning multiple school years. [+W]
• Computing participation and achievement disparities persisted in the district despite development of an inclusive CT pathway. [~W]

Related Designs

• Computational Thinking Pathways — the district pathway these five competencies organise
• Key vocabulary column for a common CT lexicon
• CT examples before teacher lesson design

Examples

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Key Sources

• Digital Promise. (2021). Nurturing an Innovative District: Inclusive Computing Pathways in Talladega County Schools. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/132

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	five-ct-competencies-organizing-k12-content
title	Five key computational thinking competencies organizing K-12 content
description	The pathway conceptualizes content at every grade level as relating to one of five competencies: "Abstraction, Data Collection and Analysis, Algorithmic Thinking, Building Models & Simulations, and Decomposition." Thi...
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-09
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — digital-promise-2021

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