Contributions to computational thinking in initial teacher education: An experience with Scratch in elementary school
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48489/quadrante.36983Keywords:
mathematics learning, teacher education, computational thinking, ScratchAbstract
Computational thinking is considered a 21st century skill, being reflected in curriculum revisions in recent years in several countries. In Portugal, computational thinking appears as one of the transversal mathematical skills in the curriculum of mathematics of 2021. This paper presents an exploratory study that aims to know the contributions of the work of elementary future teachers in the use of Scratch for their future practice in 1st cycle of elementary school, in a training context that integrates the learning of geometry and measurement and the development of computational thinking. Four future teachers, who are studying master's degrees that qualify them for teaching in the 1st cycle of elementary school, participate in the study. The results show that future teachers recognize opportunities to integrate mathematical knowledge and computational thinking practices with the realization and discussion of the task “The class garden”, challenges in class management and student difficulties, which they can anticipate. Carrying out this task using Scratch allows to identify the articulation between computational thinking practices and the learning of specific mathematical topics, such as the perimeter and area of rectangles.
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