Does the Learning of Computational Thinking Concepts Interact with the Practice of Digital Curation in Children? A Preliminary Case Study

Digital storytelling with block-based coding tools for children involved the exercise of both computational thinking (CT) and digital curation (DC). Relevant studies, however, were more concerned with the learning and development of CT concepts rather than the practice of DC. In this regard, the current study aimed to investigate the interrelationship between the learning of CT and DC through digital storytelling, particularly from the standpoint of elementary school children. A total of 35 fifth graders were recruited from a public school in New York City to voluntarily participate in a ten-week digital storytelling workshop where they curated an interactive story within the Scratch environment. Self-made scoring rubrics were implemented to evaluate students̓ digital storytelling projects from two measures: Computation Measure and Curation Measure. The overall analysis revealed no significant correlations between the two measures. Further investigations, however, on the interrelationship between each of the subcategories of the two measures indicated a number of significant correlations between the learning of CT concepts and the practice of DC. Relevant educational implications were intensively discussed to inform the design of teaching and curriculum