Guidelines of computing science instruction for lower secondary school

Abstract

The objectives of this research are as follows: 1) to study the problems of computing science instruction for lower secondary school and 2) to present the guidelines on computing science instruction for lower secondary school. The research was conducted in the form of descriptive research and data were collected by using survey research and qualitative research with the sample group consisting of 518 teachers who taught computing science in lower secondary school and 15 specialists related to computing science instruction for lower secondary school. The research tools were questionnaires and interview forms. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and content analysis.  

The findings could be concluded as follows: 1) For problems on computing science instruction for lower secondary school, most teachers encountered the problems on setting the objective to enable students to have computational thinking abilities for solving actual problems, designating and ordering content to suit with basic knowledge of students, computing science instruction that failed to be consistent with other subjects, basic skills on the use of technological media on coding of students, and failure to evaluate students based on all indicators; 2) For the guidelines on computing science instruction for lower secondary school, teachers had to set the objective for assigning students to design algorithm from their surrounding things based on their context or interest. Teachers should designate content by considering on interest of students that was updated, flexible, and changeable based on situations. Teachers should provide some learning activities that integrated knowledge and skills of computing science with other subjects. The duration of learning management should be over

1 hour per week and teachers should utilize unplugged media to practice basic thinking skills. Teachers should create tools for measuring and evaluating results with a focus on practical actions of students. Measurement and evaluation should consist of explicit and appropriate rubrics for students’ context. Evaluation should be conducted in multiple dimensions and perspectives.