Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Administrative and Instructional Leadership

First Advisor

James R Campbell

Second Advisor

Richard Bernato

Third Advisor

Anthony Annunziato

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine how implementing computational thinking (via a proxy in AP Computer Science Principles) into a school’s curriculum impacted student proficiency rates on the New York State Geometry Regents. Recent research has suggested that computational thinking is a skill that transcends specific content areas and can influence student learning outcomes across multiple disciplines. By equipping students with these skills, each individual’s zone of proximal development may increase, leading to increased learning efficiency. Given the rise of technology and the need for computational literacy, schools are looking to implement courses to help students develop these skills. The target school students were compared to their fellow general education peers in their home and neighboring counties. The target school was unique because students were mandated to take AP Computer Science Principles during their freshman year, while the other students were not. Through multinomial logistic regression, the influence of computational thinking on student proficiency rates was quantified and found to be insignificant. However, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the students’ performance. While the findings were insignificant, the students in the target school were likelier than the other students in their county and the neighboring county to be proficient in Geometry, according to the New York State Education Department’s definition of proficiency.

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