Share Paper: Assessing computational thinking of college students and implications for computer science education

1. Jia He, Ball State University, China
2. Matthew Stuve, Ball State University, United States

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to measure Computational Thinking (CT) of college students and the factors that might influence its development before and during college. This study addresses whether CT can predict a student’s readiness for a computer science (CS) program and whether CT is developed further in the program. This study uses a cross-sectional, quantitative design that measured the performance by college students (n=81) on CT-related challenges using an existing instrument purported to measure CT. The results show that CS students had higher scores than Non-CS students and that CS students’ scores increase over time in CS program. ...