Thinging for Computational Thinking

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of 'thinging' and the 'thinging machine' as a new diagrammatic approach to enhance understanding and teaching of computational thinking skills for everyone.

Contribution

It proposes a novel thinking pattern called 'thinging' and a diagrammatic tool, the 'thinging machine', to represent and develop computational thinking.

Findings

'Thinging' provides a valuable process for computational thinking.

The 'thinging machine' diagram effectively illustrates thinking activities.

Case study supports the approach's viability.

Abstract

This paper examines conceptual models and their application to computational thinking. Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everybody, not just for computer scientists. It has been promoted as skills that are as fundamental for all as numeracy and literacy. According to authorities in the field, the best way to characterize computational thinking is the way in which computer scientists think and the manner in which they reason how computer scientists think for the rest of us. Core concepts in computational thinking include such notions as algorithmic thinking, abstraction, decomposition, and generalization. This raises several issues and challenges that still need to be addressed, including the fundamental characteristics of computational thinking and its relationship with modeling patterns (e.g., object-oriented) that lead to programming/coding. Thinking pattern refers to recurring templates used by designers in thinking. In this paper, we propose a representation of thinking activity by adopting a thinking pattern called thinging that utilizes a diagrammatic technique called thinging machine (TM). We claim that thinging is a valuable process as a fundamental skill for everybody in computational thinking. The viability of such a proclamation is illustrated through examples and a case study.