A MOOC on Computational Thinking for All: Pedagogical Principles, Challenges, and Their Application

For the last two decades, the world of pre-academic and academic education has been occupied with ways of developing computational thinking. Responding to the common perception to develop those thinking skills in all learners, and indeed in the entire population, we developed a MOOC on computational thinking. The course advocates the development of computational thinking skills in every human being, at any age, and in any subject matter, emphasizing the common, essential computational thinking skills: problem decomposition, abstraction, and generalization. Based on our belief in the importance of the application of computational thinking skills when using computerized environments, and the importance of its significant application in developing an understanding of any discipline, the course is based on the development of simulations of computational processes in any area of knowledge. We widely discuss the pedagogical challenges of developing a MOOC on thinking skills without teacher-learner interaction, and share how we overcame these challenges by implementing the Four Pedagogies for Developing Computational Thinking (4P4CT) framework, which integrates the pedagogies of active learning, project-based learning, product-based learning, and context-based learning. We present preliminary findings from research we conducted during the first two MOOC cycles with about 1,600 learners. Specifically, quantitative and qualitative data analysis of students' learning processes are discussed, reflecting the students' multi-faceted and deep engagement in the MOOC.