Computational thinking - my initial ideas

 As I was reading Barr and Stephenson's (2011) article, Bringing Computational Thinking to K-12: What is Involved in the Role of the Computer Science Education Community, I came across some key questions that I thought would help me to develop an understanding about computational thinking. I put my initial ideas of computational thinking into in a table below by answering these questions.

What would computational thinking look like in the classroom?	Problem solving (probably with some students working through some struggle and confusion) Collaboration - peers working together to solve problems Engaging in online and offline tools and activities
What are the skills that students would demonstrate?	Social skills (collaboration) Linking prior knowledge to new situations Persisting through tough problems Independence and control of their own learning Utilising math skills Higher order thinking processes (analysing, evaluating and creating)
What would a teacher need in order to put computational thinking into practice?	A basic working knowledge of computer technologies so that they can pass on the knowledge to students Resources - the technologies, support and both online and offline resources such as activities, access to blogs and computer development software, etc. Skills using a range of technologies and tools - PD may be needed here. Teachers need to be open to change! I also believe they must be willing to allow students to engage in some struggle while solving problems; they need to act as facilitators and guides and not "fountains of knowledge".
What are teachers already doing that could be modified and extended?	Gathering and representing data in maths - express in more engaging visual forms (e.g. infographics). Researching information in History to create timelines of information (could create infographics, online timelines, interactive presentations, etc.). Science experiments and data representation (provide less structure, allow students to problem solve and use data to link to other issues or problems - extend their knowledge past the experiment alone). Math - algebra and algorithms (link this to real world information. Don't teach in isolation; show how it applies to real life and how this process of abstraction is important).

References

          Barr, V. & Stephenson, C. (2011). Bringing computational thinking to K-12: what is involved and what is the role of the computer science education community? acm Inroads, 2(1), pp.48-54. Retrieved from http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/CurrFiles/BarrStephensonInroadsArticle.pdf