How Beaufort, Neumann and Gates met? Subject integration with spreadsheeting

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel approach integrating subject matter with digital schemata using spreadsheeting, enhancing Grade 8 students' content knowledge and digital skills through a context-based problem involving the Beaufort scale.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for subject integration and schema building that can be adapted to various paper-based problems to improve digital literacy and understanding.

Findings

Students' content knowledge improved more than traditional methods.

Digital skills development was more effective with the proposed approach.

Method is adaptable to different paper-based problems.

Abstract

Computational thinking should be the fourth fundamental skill, along with reading, writing, and arithmetic (3R). To reach the level where computational thinking skills, especially digital problem solving have their own schemata, there is a long way to go. In the present paper, a novel approach is detailed to support subject integration and building digital schemata, on the well-known Beaufort scale. The conversion of a traditional, paper-based problem and a data retrieval process are presented within the frame of a Grade 8 action research study. It is found that both students content knowledge and their digital skills developed more efficiently than in traditional course book and decontextualized digital environments. Furthermore, the method presented here can be adapted to any paper-based problems whose solutions would be more effective in a digital environment and which offer various forms for building schemata both in the subject matter and informatics.