Computational Thinking - A Practical Guide to Teaching Computing and ICT in the Secondary School - page 95

However, as has already been pointed out, these techniques are not exclusive.
Computational Thinking is 'influencing research in nearly all disciplines, both in
the sciences and the humanities' (Bundy, 2007).
COMPUTATIONAL THINKING AND THE CURRICULUM
Computational Thinking is a term sometimes accredited to the American scholar
Seymour Papert as early as 1993 (Papert, 1993). More recently it has been linked to
the work of Jeannette Wing (2006). The movement to include it as a compulsory
part of the education of secondary (and primary) children began in the USA, often
building on the work of Wing, and led by the Computer Science Teachers Association
(CSTA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). It was
supported by a number of influential computing businesses, who were finding it
difficult to recruit workers with the kinds of skills they needed, as well as
universities, who had falling rolls on their Computer Science courses.
This movement was noted by the British Computer Society (BCS), British
Computing industries and Computer Science university departments in the UK. A
number of factors then converged. There was a change of government in England;
an Ofsted report criticising aspects of ICT teaching (Ofsted, 2011); Eric Schmidt,
founder of Google, made a well-publicised speech in Edinburgh (Schmidt, 2011)
stating he could not believe Computer Science was not taught in UK schools; the
Royal Society of London ( see Resources: Computational Thinking) responded to
worries of universities and some in British industry about the declining numbers
studying Computer Science with its report 'Computing in Schools: Shut Down or
Restart' (Royal Society, 2012); and an organisation similar to the CSTA was created
in the UK, supported by BCS, called 'Computing At Schools' (CAS). Thus, the pro-
Computer Science and Computational Thinking movement, which had started in
the USA, migrated to the UK, particularly in England. Those behind the movement
believed it could be beneficial to both pupils' learning and to the economy. They
raised its profile, subsequently influencing policymakers such that it led to the
creation of a new Programme of Study (PoS) for England in Computing (DfE, 2013),
replacing the previous PoS in ICT on the National Curriculum for 2014.
Computational Thinking was a key theme within this PoS.
Task 5.2
Discussion on Educational Policy
This is a good example of how a special interest group influenced Educational
Policy. However, the debate is ongoing. Discuss whether you think revisions to
the PoS have gone far enough (or too far) in addressing the deficiencies that Eric
Schmidt and Ofsted identified.
WHY IS COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IMPORTANT?
It has real-world application
Computational Thinking has already influenced research in science and
engineering disciplines for many years. Today's use of expert systems to analyse
massive amounts of data means that computation has been recognised by some
scientists as the third pillar of science, along with theory and experimentation.