Development of Algorithmic Thinking in Primary School Students when Studying Computer Science

Abstract

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the fact that modern society requires new generations to be able to plan their actions, find the information necessary to solve problems among huge information arrays (many of which are also not reliable), and model processes for the future. The set of certain tasks is synergised in the plane of the concept of algorithmic thinking. The purpose of the study is to track the educational and competence consequences of applying the developed approaches to stimulate algorithmic thinking in computer science lessons, to identify how they will contribute to the development of algorithmic thinking in primary school students. The paper states that categorisation of the concept of algorithmic thinking requires a broad understanding of the algorithm as a set and sequence of actions aimed at achieving the desired result. While algorithmic thinking is a way of organising mental actions and techniques for solving problems, as a result of which an algorithm is created – a specific product of human mental activity. Algorithmic thinking is not a compilation of algorithms, and its development is not limited to the mechanical memorisation of a number of algorithms. In the scientific literature and current policy documents on primary schools, the development of algorithmic thinking is perceived in the context of information and digital competence of schoolchildren and is associated with branches related to computer science: mathematics and logic. The emphasis on the potential for developing algorithmic thinking applies directly to the computer science course, but is not limited to it. The intention to stimulate the ability to think algorithmically is a requirement of the postmodern information era and the key to personal success, it is one of the tools of socialisation, and therefore, approaches to the development of algorithmic thinking should be comprehensively presented in the concepts of studying other compulsory and optional subjects. For the study, the authors developed and successfully tested a special eight-level diagnostic structure, which is presented in the paper. It can be used as a basis for conducting similar experimental studies. Further study on the topic should be organised around deepening the understanding and expanding the range of methodological approaches to the development of algorithmic thinking in schoolchildren of the New Ukrainian School (NUS), in particular, in computer science lessons