Exploring Issues About Computational Thinking in Higher Education

The term computational thinking (CT) has been in academic discourse for decades, but gained new currency in 2006, when Jeanette Wing used it to describe a set of thinking skills that students in all fields may require in order to succeed. Wing’s initial article and subsequent writings on CT have been broadly influential; experts in computational thinking have started developing teaching and leadership materials to support integration of CT across the K-12 curriculum. Despite interest at the K-12 level, however, outside of computer science and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields there has been less interest in –and research conducted on– the potential of CT in higher education. The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of the field in higher education and discuss whether CT skills are relevant outside of STEM fields.