Development and Validation of a Computational Thinking Affective Scale

ObjectivesAs computational thinking (CT) becomes increasingly important in STEM education, researchers have used various instruments to measure affective aspects of CT competencies.However, most studies measure students' attitude or dispositions toward computing and/or other subject domains, instead of directly assessing affective aspects of CT.In this study, we developed and validated a scale to measure students' affective aspects of CT, including (a) dispositions that enhance and support CT and (b) self-reported CT skills concerning different CT components, i.e., frequency of using each CT component.Using the data collected from secondary school students, we validated the scale in multiple ways: (a) reliability through alpha coefficient and inter total correlations; (b) validity through factor analysis and correlation between students' self-reported attitudes, CT skills, and their STEM performances; and (c) instructional sensitivity through comparing students' survey scores before and after a CT intervention as well as between formal and informal educational settings. Perspectives Computational ThinkingAlthough the amount of research into CT has been growing, the defining components of CT are unclear.Brennan and Resnick (2012) developed a definition of CT that involves three key dimensions: computational concepts, computational practices, and computational perspectives.Selby and Woollard (2013) synthesized the consensus terms of CT in the literature and proposed CT as a product-oriented activity associated with problem solving.They believed that CT is cognitive or thought process that reflects abstraction, decomposition, algorithm, evaluation and generalizations.Many other researchers emphasized that the CT is a set of thinking and problem solving skills as well (e.g., Mannila et al. 2014;Riley and Hunt 2014;Syslo and Kwiatkowska 2013).Along with the discussion on the cognitive aspects of CT, researchers have also been interested in the affective aspects of CT, such as students' attitude and dispositions toward CT.Google (2016) described the CT is a problem-solving process that includes a number of characteristics and dispositions.In addition, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTA) and the Computer Science Teacher Association (CSTA) suggested several dispositions that are essential to support CT, including "Confidence in dealing with complexity, Persistence in working with difficult problems, Tolerance for ambiguity, Ability to deal with open ended problems, Ability to communicate and work with others to achieve a common goal or solution" (ISTE & CSTA, 2018, p. 7). Assessment and ValidationTo promote the development of CT, researchers have developed various instruments that measure the whole and/or sub-dimensions of CT (Korkmaz, 2017;Atmatzidou and Demetriadis, 2016;Chen et al. 2017; Shell 2013).Grover, Pea, andCooper (2015) employed an assessment system with open-ended programming assignments and a survey to measure perceptions of computing.They found that students have become curious and positive toward the application of CS and CT in the world.However, research was lacking to directly measure affective aspects of CT.Even fewer studies provided the instruments' reliability and validity.Therefore, the aim of the research is to develop and validate a CT scale to assess students' affective aspects of CT.