Implementing Computational Thinking into the Curriculum and Teacher Education in the Czech Republic: Facts and First Experiences
Abstrakt
The paper is focussed on how computational thinking has been implemented in the curriculum for pre-primary, primary, lower and upper secondary schools and in teacher education in the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic is currently working on revisions to its curricular document, the Framework Educational Programme, with two major aims: (1) to improve pupils' digital literacy development at all educational stages, and (2) to implement a new compulsory subject of ICT and Informatics, instead of ICT.
Informatics will centre on the development of computational thinking. To achieve this goal, two three-year projects involving all faculties of education in the Czech Republic have been established: the project, "PRIM" (Support for the development of computational thinking), and the project "Digitální Gramotnost" (Support for the development of digital literacy).
Since October 2017, thirteen textbooks and teacher guidelines for teaching Informatics as a new subject in primary and secondary schools and for the development of computational thinking in pre-school children have been produced from the "PRIM" project. Concurrently, in order to be ready for the planned curricular changes in schools, compulsory courses for student teachers of pre-primary, primary and secondary schools were designed.
The author summarises her experience with development of computational thinking of primary school student teachers at the Faculty of Education, Charles University.