Classroom Practicescs-coaching-knowledge-base.md

Solve Problems With CT

Front: While definitions vary, CT includes six concepts that can be used for problem solving in computing and across disciplines: abstraction, algorithms, decomposition, evaluation, logic, and patterns, and four approaches to problem solving: collaboration, debugging, persevering, and tinkering. These tools can help students prepare a problem to be solved by a computer, but can also foster deep thinking and collaboration to reach solutions outside the digital world.

Back: Allocate time for students to learn CT concepts and practices. Model their use, and acknowledge students when they use CT vocabulary. Connect these skills to problem solving at home or in the community. Whenever possible, identify, highlight or call out the CT skill(s) the students might use to solve a problem. During CS or CT lessons, prompt student thinking: "Which CT skills are you using to solve the problem? Did you abstract the essential facts? What was the algorithm you followed? How are you using your logical thinking skills to predict what might happen next? Do you notice any helpful patterns? How might you decompose the problem into smaller steps to find a solution? Can we evaluate the solution to see if it works?"

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