Combining Maker Technologies to Promote Computational Thinking and Heart- ware skills through Project-based Activities : Design Considerations and Empirical Outputs

Many countries have started to integrate Computational Thinking (CT) as an essential 21st century skill into different schools’ STEM related subjects. Despite positive developments in terms of CT integration into schools’ curricula, there are still important issues and challenges to address on how to teach and use programming and CT in the classrooms. As part of our ongoing efforts to introduce and to apply different maker technologies to foster CT, this paper describes the results of an exploratory study aiming at designing and implementing learning activities in informal settings using the Engino® Robotics Platform (ERP) and the BBC micro:bit. We conducted a one-week-long workshop with the participation of 22 children aged 10-15 years old. The constructionist theoretical perspective and the Four P’s Creative Learning theory (projects, peers, passion, and play) were applied for conceptualizing and designing our activities. The initial results of our efforts indicate that firstly, learning contexts enriched by the combination of different maker technologies can help students to develop CT skills; Secondly, remixing learning experiences can bring CT into STEM subjects; and lastly, the design of the proposed workshop and the planned activities serve as the basis of a learning environment that can foster problem solving, creativity, and heart-ware skills when the four P's are taken into account. The current study contributes with empirical knowledge that can be used for the advancement of design practices to promote CT development in connection to STEM-related subjects both in informal and formal learning settings