Open peer commentary on the article “Creativity in Solving Short Tasks for Learning Computational Thinking” by Valentina Dagienė, Gerald Futschek & Gabrielė Stupurienė. Abstract: Computational thinking (CT) skills are nowadays strongly advocated for educational institutions at all levels. CT refers broadly to skills of thinking about the world from a computational perspective, however, not necessarily referring to programming skills in particular. There is still a lack of consensus about what CT means, and how CT should be taught. This open peer commentary briefly discusses some ongoing trends of CT in response to the target article, which reports development, field testing and piloting of an extensive set of new learning materials for teaching CT. Recent calls for interdisciplinary technology education, creativity and open-ended problem solving in CT are highlighted.

Context: In 2015, we are surrounded by tools and technologies for creating and making, thinking and learning. But classroom “learning” is often focused on learning about the tool/technology itself, rather than learning with or through the technology. Problem: A constructionist theory of learning offers useful ways for thinking about how technology can be included in the service of learning in K-12 classrooms. To support constructionism in the classroom, we need to focus on supporting teachers, who necessarily serve as the agents of classroom-level innovations. This article explores a central question: How can we support teachers to engage with constructionism as a way to think beyond a technocentric view in the classroom? Method: I approach this work from the perspective of a designer, using the process of supporting teachers working with the Scratch programming language in K-12 classrooms as a central example. I draw on reflections from six years of the ScratchEd project, which includes interviews with 30 teachers, and observations from teacher professional development events and an online community of educators. Results: I describe five sets of tensions that I encountered while designing the ScratchEd model of professional development: tensions between (1) tool and learning, (2) direction and discovery, (3) individual and group, (4) expert and novice, and (5) actual and aspirational. I describe how these tensions are negotiated within the elements of the PD model (an online community, participatory meetups, and an online workshop). Implications: The tensions I describe are not specific to Scratch, and can serve as a more general model for PD designers to scrutinize and critique. Constructivist content: This work contributes to ongoing conversations and questions about how to support constructivist/constructionist approaches in classrooms.

Key words: Constructionism, technocentrism, teachers, professional development, ScratchEd

Open peer commentary on the article “Early Programming Education Based on Concept Building” by Jiří Vaníček. Abstract: Vaníček proposes a developed curriculum of basic programming informed by sound constructivist-based principles. Two questions for reflection are brought forth, one concerning the expected constructivist approach to teaching and one about the development of pupils’ computational perspectives.

Abstract: In this response we emphasize the core elements of the MICA course, and how its focus is on providing programming experiences for “doing” mathematics. This implies an epistemological shift from traditional mathematics instruction at university.

Context: There seem to be relatively few sustained implementations of microworlds in mathematics instruction. Problem: We explore the roles of and demands on university instructors to create an environment that supports students’ constructionist learning experiences as they design, program, and use interactive environments (i.e., microworlds) for doing mathematics. Method: We draw on the experiences of instructors in programming-based courses implemented since 2001 at Brock University, Canada, as a case study, and use Ruthven’s model on the professional adaptation of classroom practice with technology to guide our analysis of these experiences. Results: We describe how, in adapting to a design of empowering students to engage in programming for authentic mathematical explorations, instructors adopt characteristics of constructionist teaching that, nevertheless, demand expertise, a shift in traditional roles, and time from instructors. Implications: The results contribute to our understanding of roles of and demands on “ordinary” instructors in classrooms, who aim to create rich environments for supporting students’ constructionist learning experiences of computational thinking for mathematics. Constructivist content: The teaching approach aligns with Papert’s constructionism: a constructivist learning theory, but also a pedagogical paradigm. However, the approach presented has two salient characteristics: it is a university-level constructionist implementation, and it is a sustained long-term authentic classroom implementation. The focus is on the roles of and demands on instructors in that kind of implementation. Through the analysis using Ruthven’s work, we enrich our understanding of constructionist teaching features.

Key words: Computational thinking, constructionism, mathematics, programming, microworlds, university, teachers.

Open peer commentary on the article “Early Programming Education Based on Concept Building” by Jiří Vaníček. Abstract: Vaníček’s target article presents a pilot study of an introductory course of programming. In my commentary I argue that teachers will be a key factor of success if the pilot program is implemented in a top-down way. Other important issue are the differentiation between children with different abilities while they go through the tasks, and the continuation of learning programming after the entry-level course.

The paper uses the tools of second-order cybernetics (theory of the observation of observations) in order to examine the implicit ontology of first-order cybernetics, i.e. of informatics. The starting point is the distinction of operations and observations, which is used to show that computers are machines operating without the capability to observe, but have the task to process observations. This requires a highly complex structure of distinctions and observations, based upon the possibility to program the lack of programs. The progress of informatic programming and the extension to telematics impose today a very refined (although often unconscious) articulation of observation levels: this is shown using the example of object-oriented programming (OOP).

Key words: constructivism, observation theory, cybernetics, computer languages

We introduce Radical Interactionism (RI), which extends Franklin et al.’s (2013) Cognitive Cycles as Cognitive Atoms (CCCA) proposal in their discussion on conceptual commitments in cognitive models. Similar to the CCCA commitment, the RI commitment acknowledges the indivisibility of the perception-action cycle. However, it also reifies the perception-action cycle as sensorimotor interaction and uses it to replace the traditional notions of observation and action. This complies with constructivist epistemology, which suggests that knowledge of reality is constructed from regularities observed in sensorimotor experience. We use the LIDA cognitive architecture as an example to examine the implications of RI on cognitive models. We argue that RI permits self- programming and constitutive autonomy, which have been acknowledged as desirable cognitive capabilities in artificial agents.

Key words: constructivist learning, sensorimotor modeling, self-programming, constitutive autonomy, self-motivation, Enaction.

A novel way to model an agent interacting with an environment is introduced, called an Enactive Markov Decision Process (EMDP). An EMDP keeps perception and action embedded within sensorimotor schemes rather than dissociated, in compliance with theories of embodied cognition. Rather than seeking a goal associated with a reward, as in reinforcement learning, an EMDP agent learns to master the sensorimotor contingencies offered by its coupling with the environment. In doing so, the agent exhibits a form of intrinsic motivation related to the autotelic principle (Steels), and a value system attached to interactions called “interactional motivation.” This modeling approach allows the design of agents capable of autonomous self-programming, which provides rudimentary constitutive autonomy – a property that theoreticians of enaction consider necessary for autonomous sense-making (e.g., Froese & Ziemke). A cognitive architecture is presented that allows the agent to discover, memorize, and exploit spatio-sequential regularities of interaction, called Enactive Cognitive Architecture (ECA). In our experiments, behavioral analysis shows that ECA agents develop active perception and begin to construct their own ontological perspective on the environment. Relevance: This publication relates to constructivism by the fact that the agent learns from input data that does not convey ontological information about the environment. That is, the agent learns by actively experiencing its environment through interaction, as opposed to learning by registering observations directly characterizing the environment. This publication also relates to enactivism by the fact that the agent engages in self-programming through its experience from interacting with the environment, rather than executing pre-programmed behaviors.

Abstract: Crafting constructionist supplements to enrich curriculum is not easy; crafting a full set of constructionist-designed materials for day-to-day use by students and teachers is downright hard; both are possible. If one chooses to build in programming, decisions about what computer language has the “ideal” characteristics may depend on the specific subject matter or purpose to which that language will be applied. Mathematics, even for young children, imposes demands on that programming language - among them, the ability to create and compose functions - that other expressive purposes may not.