Why this topic?
While taking Studio for Computing for Learning, we explore a term that is new to me: Computational Thinking. According to Google, computational thinking is “essential to the development of computer applications, but it can also be used to support problem solving across all disciplines, including the humanities, math, and science” (Google, n.d.). During the class, we focused on a pedagogy environment, however, my career is in the field of andragogy. The readings focused on the importance of teaching towards computational thinking through computer science and STEM classrooms. This is because computational thinking involves algorithmic thinking, evaluation, decomposition of a problem, abstracting data, and finding a general approach to a set of problems (Snalune, 2015). Each of these reading focused on how important it was to employers, but they stopped there. They had a few generic sentences about how the skills learned would benefit employers. However, as an adult educator in a corporate environment, I was left questioning what research there is that the workplace needs this computational thinking and how employees actually use this type of thinking in their day-to-day work. After all, it is possible that “on average, by 2020, more than a third of the desired core skills sets for the majority of occupations will be comprised of skills we do not consider crucial at present, according a WEF (World Economic Forum) poll”, which is just two short years away now (Tassecto, 2018).With computational thinking “rapidly establishing itself as the literacy of the 21st Century as digital technologies become the core of the workplace” (Tassecto, 2018). So that is what this blog post is about, exploring both research about the importance of computational thinking in the workplace and the future of the workforce in relation to computational thinking.
How is computational thinking taught?
STEM and Computer Science classes are now regularly integrated into some classrooms, yet there are schools where these classes are not available. This is important to include in all curricula, from kindergarten through higher education because up to “65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist” (World Economic Forum, 2016). But what do they need to learn when it comes to computational thinking?
Computational thinking for everyone means being able to:
- Understand which aspects of a problem are amenable to computation,
- Evaluate the match between computational tools and techniques and a problem,
- Understand the limitations and power of computational tools and techniques,
- Apply or adapt a computational tool or technique to a new use,
- Recognize an opportunity to use computation in a new way, and
- Apply computational strategies such divide and conquer in any domain.
Computational thinking for scientists, engineers, and other professionals further means being able to:
- Apply new computational methods to their problems,
- Reformulate problems to be amenable to computational strategies,
- Discover new science through analysis of large data,
- Ask new questions that were not thought of or dared to ask because of scale, but which are easily addressed computationally, and
- Explain problems and solutions in computational terms (Wing, N.D.)
However, it does not need to just be taught in a STEM or computer class. Tinkering, and tinkering for playing, teaches students this thinking style, no matter what they are creating. Makers spaces invite curiosity, inspire wonder, encourage playfulness, and celebrate unique solutions, but most importantly, at least to me, makers education teaches that it is ok to fail (Fleming, Kurti, D., Kurti, S., 2014). These unique solutions include “breaking down problems into smaller parts, looking for patterns, identifying principles that generate these patterns, and developing instructions that computers — machines and people — can understand. It is an approach to critical thinking that can be used to solve problems across all disciplines” (ALA, 2018). In fact, maker education should be included in all curricula, from kindergarten through higher education. While many schools now offer STEM classes, I argue that this should not be the only exposure students have to maker education. Instead of exploring the important concepts of computational thinking in one spot, maybe only in one grade, this type of thinking should be incorporated into every subject. There is no reason why it needs to be pigeonholed into one small corner of a student’s education. “The makerspace isn't just a fixed space where kids come and go to complete busywork. It's an extension of a well-established approach to educating students that has applications and deep implications across disciplines” (Bolkan, J., 2018). Instead, a maker education promotes constructivism, which “equally applies to any subject area because it's the whole idea of learning through doing" (Bolkan, J., 2018). Constructivism itself is a building block of a good education, not just one good class. "The foundational pedagogy actually transcends a specific subject area because in its essence — when it was Jean Piaget and Seymour Papert and John Dewey talking about this it was about the whole system, the whole structure of education that could be transformed by this methodology" (Bolkan, J., 2018). Bolkan explores the need for maker education across all disciplines with the following:
Disciplines exist because there are particular ways of thinking about problems that are disciplinary, and, to become a master of solving a scientific problem, let's say, one does need to have many, many, many opportunities to practice thinking like a scientist," Hagerman said. "Knowing that scientific method, or knowing how to think like a scientist about problems, is important. It has to be a part of every student's mental toolkit because when there's a problem, that scientific method may indeed be exactly the approach that one should take to solve the problem. Same with history or social studies. There are all kinds of ways of thinking or heuristics that historians apply to solve problems that are historical, or to construct an understanding of the past in ways that can help to inform the present." (2018).
What skills are needed in the workforce?
Skills used in the workforce is the one area where I felt there was a lack in reading about computational thinking. It all seemed to center on general skills or computer science skills. In actuality “computational thinking runs through every aspect and function of a modern business” (Snalune, 2015). Also according to Snalune, “it has become more crucial in the 21st century workplace where so much is now data-driven - analyzing consumer behavior, the movement in financial markets and the performance of public services, like health or policing, are just a few job roles that require individuals to be able to think through problems in a way that a computer could understand” (2015). Another key factor in deciding how computational thinking is used in the workplace is the Future of Jobs report run by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The infographic below is the result of their world-wide survey of corporations. Six of the nine skills listed exist in multiple definitions of computational thinking.
What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution describes the exponential changes to the way we live, work and relate to one another due to the adoption of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Systems” (Marr, 2018). The fourth revolution actually overlaps the third industrial revolution, but stands unique on its own technological feats, such as “technological trends whose potentially far-ranging implications have not yet fully materialized—such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things—are expected to be well underway in specific industries in the years leading up to 2020” (World Economic Forum, 2016). In fact, “we stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another” (Schwab, 2016).
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| The 4 Industrial Revolutions by Christoph Roser at AllAboutLean.com) |
What is the Impact on the Job Market?
But what effect on does this fourth revolution have on the job market. The 4th Industrial Revolution is “disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance” (Schwab, 2016). The infographic below, from the World Economic Forum survey, lists nine areas of impact of the fourth Industrial Revolution, and the impact time-frames.
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The fear of the fourth Industrial Revolution is that it “could yield greater inequality, particularly in its potential to disrupt labor market” causing a shrinking of the middle class (Schwab, 2016). “As automation substitutes for labor across the entire economy, the net displacement of workers by machines might exacerbate the gap between returns to capital and returns to labor” (Schwab, 2016). This is because the largest beneficiaries of technology innovations are usually those that develop and implement the change, creating an even larger pay gap. “The result is a job market with a strong demand at the high and low ends, but a hollowing out of the middle” (Schwab, 2016). Also, “there might be increased social tensions as a result of the socioeconomic changes brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution that could create a job market that’s segregated into “low-skill/low-pay” and “high-skill/high-pay” segments…Some jobs will become obsolete” (Marr, 2018). The world is seeing this now with a large gap in hiring for technology jobs. But it isn’t just traditional tech jobs that are at risk. “With regard to the overall scale of demand for various skills in 2020, more than one third (36%) of all jobs across all industries are expected by our respondents to require complex problem-solving as one of their core skills, compared to less than 1 in 20 jobs (4%) that will have a core requirement for physical abilities such as physical strength or dexterity” (World Economic Forum, 2016).
Conclusion
Teaching computational thinking in multiple subjects is more critical now than ever before. “Computational thinking skills are beneficial to careers in virtually every sector, including consumer products, business and financial markets, energy, travel and tourism, or public services such as healthcare, education and law and order” (Snalune, 2015). Unfortunately, a lack of computational thinking not only hinders individuals in the workplace, it also hinders the economy. With a background in this style of thinking, employees are more well-rounded and able to solve complex tasks. Without it, there is real potential that only the most low skill/low pay jobs will be available.
References
American Library Association. (2018). The what and the why of computational thinking. Libraries: Ready to Code. American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/tools/readytocode/computational-thinking
Bolkan, J. (2018). Integrating makerspaces throughout the curriculum. The Journal. Retrieved from: https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/09/04/integrating-makerspaces-throughout-the-curriculum.aspx
Fleming, Kurti, D., Kurti, S. (2014). The philosophy of educational makerspaces. Part 1 of making an educational makerspace. Teacher Librarian: The Journal for School Library Professionals. Retrieved from: http://teacherlibrarian.com/2014/06/18/educational-makerspaces/
Marr, B. (2018). The 4th Industrial Revolution is here - are you ready? Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/08/13/the-4th-industrial-revolution-is-here-are-you-ready/#f8dbf02628b2
Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
Snalune, P. (2015). The benefits of computational thinking. The Chartered Institute for IT. Retrieved from https://www.bcs.org/content/ConWebDoc/55416.
Tassecto, J.M. (2018). Computational thinking will be vital for the future job market. Enterprise Times. Retrieved from https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2018/07/04/computational-thinking-will-be-vital-for-the-future-job-market/.
Wing, J. (N.D.). Research notebook: Computational thinking--what and why? The Link. Retrieved from https://www.cs.cmu.edu/link/research-notebook-computational-thinking-what-and-why.
World Economic Forum. (2016). The future of jobs. Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/chapter-1-the-future-of-jobs-and-skills/.
What is computational thinking? Google. Retrieved from: https://computationalthinkingcourse.withgoogle.com/
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