{"id":1288,"date":"2021-07-21T16:07:02","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T15:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2021-08-06T14:13:19","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T13:13:19","slug":"using-computing-science-to-teach-problem-solving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/07\/21\/using-computing-science-to-teach-problem-solving\/","title":{"rendered":"USING COMPUTING SCIENCE TO TEACH PROBLEM SOLVING"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"builder-section-text_817\" class=\"builder-section-first builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-next-text builder-text-columns-1\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_817-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Computers are mathematical devices, it\u2019s as simple as that. The first computers were built by mathematicians (and still are, although they are now called computing scientists).\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerhistory.org\/babbage\/\">One of the first \u2018computers\u2019 was designed by Charles Babbage to perform complex calculations<\/a>. They have developed unimaginably since\u00a0then,\u00a0but\u00a0computers\u00a0still work on mathematical and logical principles. So, to understand computers and computing\u00a0requires\u00a0numeracy and\u00a0maths.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Understanding how computers use the information we give them helps us understand how to use computers to solve problems.\u00a0This is called\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/03\/31\/understanding-the-world-through-computational-thinking\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">computational thinking<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and is an important skillset to learn in computing. In Scotland we promote the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/02\/18\/barefoot-computing-2\/\">Barefoot computational thinking skills<\/a>:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Predicting and analysing<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Making judgements<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"6\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Making steps and rules<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"7\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spotting and using similarities<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"8\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Breaking down into parts<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"9\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Removing unnecessary details<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/external-content.duckduckgo.com\/iu\/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stem.org.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpreview%2Felibrary-resources%2F2020%2F02%2FComputational-Thinking-Children-Poster_ENGLISH.pdf.jpg&amp;f=1&amp;nofb=1\" alt=\"Barefoot Computing Information and Posters | STEM\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Computational thinking is a problem-solving strategy that can be effective in the numeracy and mathematics classroom. These are some resources that can be engaging ang challenging when developing problem solving or computational thinking skills:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-text_907\" class=\"builder-section-prev-text builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-next-text builder-text-columns-3 layout-4-8\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_907-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-admin\/post-new.php#\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Barefoot<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Barefoot provides a wide selection of activities to develop computational thinking in your setting, as well as posters and information to support your own understanding. These are some of the Barefoot Maths activities. You will need to signup (for free) to access:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootcomputing.org\/resources\/logical-number-sequences\">Logical Number Sequences<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootcomputing.org\/resources\/bee-bots-basics-activity\">Bee-Bots Basics Activity <\/a>or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootcomputing.org\/resources\/bee-bots-1-2-3-programming\">Bee-Bots 1, 2, 3 Programming Activity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootcomputing.org\/resources\/sharing-sweets-algorithms\">Sharing Sweets Algorithms<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootcomputing.org\/resources\/code-cracking\">Code Cracking (WWII)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-2\" id=\"builder-section-text_907-column-2\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/03\/17\/bebras-computational-thinking-challenge-for-teaching-problem-solving\/\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bebras<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bebras runs an annual challenge to test across the UK, with over 200 Scottish schools registered. You can test yourself with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=user_competitions\">last year&#8217;s Bebras Challenge <\/a>or register (for free) and test yourself on challenges all the way back to 2013. Bebras offers challenges for a range of age groups:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2131\">Kits (age 6-8)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2155\">Castors (age 8-10)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2156\">Juniors (age 10-12)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2157\">Intermediate (age 12-14)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2158\">Seniors (age 14-16)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2159\">Elite (age 16-18)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bebras.uk\/index.php?action=anon_join&amp;grp_id=2281\">Severely visually impaired (age 10-18)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-3\" id=\"builder-section-text_907-column-3\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/02\/18\/cs-unplugged\/\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">CS Unplugged<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>CS Unplugged offers a range of units to develop computational thinking and problem solving. Some of these range from magic tricks to understanding the binary number system:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/csunplugged.org\/en\/topics\/error-detection-and-correction\/integrations\/quick-card-flip-magic\/\">Quick card flip magic<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/csunplugged.org\/en\/topics\/error-detection-and-correction\/unit-plan\/parity-magic\/\">Parity magic<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/csunplugged.org\/en\/topics\/kidbots\/integrations\/move-to-a-number\/\">Move to a number<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/csunplugged.org\/en\/topics\/binary-numbers\/unit-plan\/how-binary-digits-work-junior\/\">How binary digits work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-text_976\" class=\"builder-section-prev-text builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-last builder-text-columns-1\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_976-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p>Let us know how you get on with any of these resources on twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/digilearnscot\">@DigiLearnScot<\/a> or\u00a0<a id=\"ttfmake-1620141276\" class=\"ttfmake-button\" style=\"background-color: #03989e; color: #000000; font-size: 13px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold; padding: 4px 10px; border-radius: 100px;\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/share-your-story\/\" data-hover-background-color=\"#037f9e\" data-hover-color=\"#ffffff\"><i class=\"ttfmake-button-icon fa fa-comment\"><\/i> SHARE YOUR STORY<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It might also be worth considering the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/2021\/06\/14\/primm-a-structure-for-programming-lessons-teach-computing\/\">PRIMM<\/a> (predict, run, investigate, modify, make) approach to solving problems, and coding, alongside computational thinking skills.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Computers are mathematical devices, it\u2019s as simple as that. The first computers were built by mathematicians (and still are, although they are now called computing scientists).\u00a0One of the first \u2018computers\u2019 was designed by Charles Babbage to perform complex calculations. They have developed unimaginably since\u00a0then,\u00a0but\u00a0computers\u00a0still work on mathematical and logical principles. So, to understand computers and &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61927,"featured_media":1289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[114],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mathscs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/computingscience\/uploads\/sites\/9355\/2021\/07\/21154107\/PROBLEM-SOLVING-COMPUTING.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/1308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/computingscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}