From collective preparation to research lesson focused on computational thinking students in mathematics problem solving

Abstract

Computational thinking is recognized as important competence for all, not only computer scientists (Wing, 2010). Strong links between computational thinking and mathematics led to the integration of computational thinking into mathematics curricula in many countries around the world. From systematic literature reviewes, Barcelos and al. (2018) identified the relations between mathematics and computational thinking and Kallia and al. (2021) identified the characteristics of computational thinking in mathematical context. The main question guiding our research is whether mobilizing computational thinking to solve mathematical problems enables students to develop a better understanding of the mathematical concepts at stake, a different understanding of the mathematical concepts at stake (in comparison with mathematical teaching without such thinking) or to overcome epistemological obstacles linked to the concepts at stake. In the context of lesson study, we focus on teachers’ practices during the preparation of the lesson and during the research lesson that promote, or not, the students learning concerning the mathematical problem solving with computational thinking.