Participate and share: Interactive session 
Recorded Session
Participants will leave this session knowing more about how to integrate computational thinking into the STEM classroom at the upper elementary level. The session will highlight the overlap between computational thinking and Next Generation Science Standards science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts using a new 5th grade unit as an example. Further, participants will experience using a problem to drive student learning using both sensemaking and the three dimensions of NGSS.
Overview of pedagogy: Presentation of phenomenon- and problem-driven learning and student sensemaking (5 minutes)
Problems allow students to draw on their prior knowledge and experiences to define the problem within a situation and/or to come up with an initial solution. Students can then complete a series of activities to collect evidence. As students collect evidence, they build on their initial ideas through an iterative process of critique and revision. This iterative sensemaking process leads to a revised definition of the problem or solution to the problem.
The backpack problem: Audience sharing of initial ideas and prior experiences (5 minutes)
This section of the session will model the pedagogy as participants take on the role of students. They share their prior experiences with packing bags that they will carry. They share their initial ideas about whether the suggested approach to lighten the backpack is a viable solution.
Highlights of the A Weighty Problem unit: Hands-on investigation (10 minutes)
Participants will debug an investigation procedure and use their debugged procedure to investigate the proposed solution. They will make a claim to answer the investigation question.
Analysis of the unit: small group discussion and large group sharing (10 minutes)
Participants will analyze the unit they are experiencing to identify when students are engaged in elements of computational thinking.
Telling the story: Small group storyboarding and animation programming in Scratch (30 minutes)
Participants will work in small groups to design a storyboard that tells the story of their research, including the initial problem, how they investigated the proposed solution, and what they learned from their investigation. They will then use a custom Scratch project to program an animated version of their story.
Odden, T.O., and R. Russ. 2019. Defining Sensemaking: Bringing Clarity to a Fragmented Theoretical Construct. Science Education 103, no. 1: 187-205.
Shute, V.J., C. Sun, and J. Asbell-Clarke. 2017. Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review 22: 142-58. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003.
Weintrop, D., E. Beheshti, M. Horn, K. Orton, K. Jona, L. Trouille, and U. Wilensky. 2016. Defining Computational Thinking for Mathematics and Science Classrooms. Journal of Science Education and Technology 25: 127–47.
Wing, J.M. 2010. Research Notebook: Computational Thinking—What and Why? The Link. Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science. Retrieved from https://www.cs.cmu.edu/link/research-notebook-computational-thinking-what-and-why.
Yadav, A., H. Hong, and C. Stephenson. 2016. Computational thinking for all: Pedagogical approaches to embedding 21st century problem solving in K–12 classrooms. TechTrends 60, no. 6: 565-568. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-016-0087-7.
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