Judgment day: Activating computational thinking activities with popular culture
Abstract
Finding a foundation in Dewey, interest is an underestimated and often overlooked aspect of learning design. Yet, situational interest in a learning experience has the power to contribute to motivation through self-regulation. Self-regulation, a learning metaskill, has the power to aid the cyclical cycle of learning achievement and interest, especially in STEM learning. Additionally, Merrill’s Activation Principle provides guidance on why and how we should attend to this cycle. Though interest appears occasionally as a consideration in learning design, two aspects of such an approach are lacking in the literature. First, few STEM-learning designs evaluate activation strategies. Second, sparse examples of attention on designing for interest in STEM learning reference using popular culture as a specific trigger. The current paper explores a conceptual framework for integrating popular culture into STEM, using computational thinking competencies as a critical mechanism and context for application and testing.
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