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Computational Thinking Concept Map

Run the Computational Thinking Concept Map MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

Computational thinking is not a new topic you have to learn. It is a name for six habits you have been practicing since your first face_state dictionary. This map puts all six around a central hub and links each one to the exact chapter and code example where you already used it. Click a skill to read what it means in plain language and what separates it from the other five. Click an outer chapter node to start from the concrete code and discover which skill it demonstrates.

How to Use

  1. Click the coral Computational Thinking hub in the middle for a one-paragraph description of the whole idea.
  2. Click any teal skill node, such as Modularity, to open its definition, the job that makes it different from the other five, and where you already used it. Its two connections light up in coral and everything else fades.
  3. Click any gray outer node, such as Chapter 9 draw_face(), to go the other direction: read what that code actually was, then see which skill it proves.
  4. Click empty space to clear the highlight and return to the starting message.
  5. Drag any node to move it. The force-directed physics gently nudges its neighbors out of the way.
  6. Press Reset Layout to put every node back on its starting ring.
  7. On wide screens, the navigation buttons in the lower corners pan and zoom the map without stealing your page scroll.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

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<iframe src="sims/computational-thinking-concept-map/main.html"
        height="602px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (High School)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • The face_state dictionary and the draw_face() function from Chapter 9, which two of the outer nodes point straight back at.
  • The thirteen-expression set from Chapter 10, all produced by that one function.
  • Blink timing and button state machines from Chapters 12 through 14.

Activities

  1. Exploration (5 min): Click all six teal skill nodes in turn. For each one, read only the "Its own job" line and try to say out loud how that skill differs from the one you clicked before it.
  2. Guided Practice (5 min): Work backward. Click each gray outer node first, predict which skill it demonstrates before reading the answer, then check yourself against the panel.
  3. Assessment (5 min): Close the map and write down three of the six skills from memory. Beside each one, name the chapter where you first used it and one sentence on how your capstone will use it again.

Assessment

  • The student can state each of the six skills in their own words without reading the panel.
  • Each skill is correctly paired with its earlier chapter and code example.
  • The student can explain what makes decomposition different from modularity, and modularity different from code reuse.
  • Each skill is connected to a specific, plausible use in the student's own capstone plan.

References

  1. Computational thinking - Wikipedia - The umbrella term and its history as a named set of problem-solving habits.
  2. Abstraction (computer science) - Wikipedia - Why representing a face as a few numbers is a design decision, not a shortcut.
  3. Modular programming - Wikipedia - The idea behind writing one draw_face() instead of thirteen near-copies.
  4. Code reuse - Wikipedia - The practical payoff that makes an eight-expression capstone finishable.