Prof. David C. Webb, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Boulder
School of Education

While educators and policymakers have recently embraced the role of computational thinking to advance science education, it is curious to observe how computational thinking has been absent from curriculum and policy discussions in mathematics education. Historically, one of the challenges to integrating technology in mathematics education has been the perceived threat of students’ dependency on calculators and computers at the risk of desired goals such as number sense and procedural fluency. However, given the role of technological literacy in problem solving, computational thinking is a necessary goal for the future of mathematics education at all levels. In this plenary talk, I will provide an overview of how computational thinking has been defined and exemplified and examine how science educators in the United States have been reimagining the role of computational thinking in the Next Generation Science Standards. Examples of how mathematics is fundamental to modeling, problem solving, and reasoning with technology will be presented using PhET simulations and other tools that support student-driven inquiry. Computational thinking as a promising basis for authentic instruction activities and STEM integration will be discussed.