Computational thinking in the teaching of Stellar Astrophysics: Analysis 4 from a teaching intervention

TL;DR

This study introduces a computational thinking-based teaching strategy for stellar astrophysics in secondary education, demonstrating improved conceptual understanding and structured thinking among students through practical workshops.

Contribution

It presents a novel teaching intervention integrating computational thinking skills into astrophysics education using an action research approach.

Findings

Improved student understanding of astrophysical phenomena.

Enhanced structuring of thinking and problem-solving skills.

Positive evaluation results from rubrics and performance matrices.

Abstract

This study designs, implements, and evaluates a teaching strategy based on computational thinking (CT) 27 to strengthen the teaching of stellar astrophysics in secondary education. Thirty-one 11th-grade students 28 from the Escuela Normal Superior Leonor \'Alvarez Pinz\'on (Tunja, Colombia) were worked with using an 29 action research approach. The methodology combined documentary analysis and practical application 30 through a teaching sequence of four workshops, integrating CT skills such as abstraction, decomposition, 31 and algorithmic thinking in experimental activities and computational modeling. The evaluation, based on 32 rubrics and performance matrices, showed improvements in the structuring of thinking and conceptual 33 understanding of astrophysical phenomena. The results suggest that CP facilitates the teaching of physics 34 by promoting active and structured learning. It is recommended that the strategy be replicated in different 35 educational contexts to validate its applicability and optimize its impact.