Two-week Scratch-based computational thinking module with water filter simulation tasks¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The study's instructional element was a two-week computational thinking module in a science teaching methods course in which participants learned block-based programming in Scratch, created and tested a water filter, and coded science simulations analogous to the water filter. Tasks followed the computational thinking subskills: participants "decomposed the problem by coding the outcomes of using different purification media, applied abstraction skills by connecting code blocks to science concepts", designed algorithmic steps, applied patterns, and debugged code errors. This element generated the struggle episodes analyzed in the study.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Participants had no prior training on computational thinking or block-based programming; the module was embedded in an existing course to circumvent curriculum overload.

Constraints¶

The article notes the limited scope of data was due to restricted time allocated for computational thinking activities within the teacher education course.

Target Learners¶

preservice science teachers in secondary education methods courses

Learning Goals¶

computational thinking subskills: decomposition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition, debugging

Claims¶

Two-hour station-based microintervention workshop with Scratch, Makey Makey, and micro:bit–Maqueen including an introductory machine-learning component

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

Lucas Vasconcelos. (2025). “We are too dumb for this”: a critical discourse analysis of stereotypical attributions to struggle with computational thinking. Education Tech Research Dev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-025-10532-8

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`scratch-water-filter-ct-module`
`title`	`Two-week Scratch-based computational thinking module with water filter simulation tasks`
`description`	`The study's instructional element was a two-week computational thinking module in a science teaching methods course in which participants learned block-based programming in Scratch, created and tested a water filter,...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-10-29`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `lucas-vasconcelos-2025`

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