Skip to Main Content

Working copy of JPL Computational Thinking: Concepts

working copy

There are four key concepts to computational thinking: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction and Algorithms.

Decomposition

One of the steps in computational thinking is to break down a complex solution into smaller parts. Here are some resources to help you in this step:

Computational thinking: Decomposition by Curriki

This video introduces the concept and process of decomposition, the first step in Computational Thinking. Examples of decomposition are shown and resources for teaching decomposition skills in the classroom are introduced.

Find patterns

Finding patterns in data/information is one important step in computational thinking. Here are some resources to help you in this step:

Thinking in patterns - Level 4 - Patterns in data by Bozeman Science

A mini-lesson about patterns in data.

Abstraction

Abstraction entails identifying the main ideas and ignoring unimportant or inaccurate data. Here are some tips to hone your skills on identifying the gist of content , filtering details and cleaning up data.

Excel quick tip: A trick for finding inconsistent data by GCELearnFree.org

Abstraction requires filtering unimportant or inaccurate data. In this video, learn how to find inconsistent data using EXCEL

Abstraction - Computational Thinking by Robotics Academy

Learn about what abstraction is and how it helps us to solve problems.

Algorithms

Algorithms- an important step in computational thinking that involves setting out an action plan or step-by-step procedure or rules to solve the problem. Below are some resources to help you in this step:

What's an algorithm? by TED-Ed

An algorithm is a mathematical method of solving problems both big and small. Though computers run algorithms constantly, humans can also solve problems with algorithms. David J. Malan explains how algorithms can be used in seemingly simple situations and also complex ones.

Computational thinking and algorithms by Computer Science MS5

Learn about writing algorithms in computational thinking.

What is a flowchart - Flowchart symbols, flowchart types, and more by SmartDraw

Flowcharts are useful tools to identify the process and generate a step-by-action action plan. In this video, learn how to use flowcharts to help you in providing algorithms for computational thinking

This joint initiative is brought to you by the Libraries from:
Copyright ©2023. Poly Libraries (NYP, NP, SP, TP) All rights reserved | Terms and Conditions of Use