Investigating computational thinking skills based on different variables and determining the predictor variables
Didem Alsancak
Abstract
This study aimed to determine how secondary school students’ computational thinking skills changed according to gender, technology use i.e. mobile device ownership, technology competence, daily technology use periods, attitude towards science and attitude towards math. In addition, the relationships between these variables was determined in this study. The research, which was carried out with the participation of 722 secondary school students, was conducted with relational survey model. Convenience sampling method was used to determine the participants. Computational thinking scale, attitudes towards science scale and attitudes towards mathematics scale were used in the study as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis tests were used in this study. According to results, while computational thinking skills did not significantly differ according to gender; there was a significant difference in computational thinking skills according to mobile device ownership, technology competence, daily technology use periods, attitudes towards science and attitudes towards math. Three of the four models developed as a result of hierarchical regression analysis were found to be statistically significant. Accordingly, it can be argued that attitudes towards science, attitudes towards math and mobile device ownership are important predictors of computational thinking.