Integrating Computational Thinking Into the Curricula to Bridge the Skill Gap in Engineering Education

This work-in-progress research-to-practice paper presents an intervention on integrating computational thinking modules into a software engineering course. The national consensus on the significance of computational thinking has prompted the expansion of related educational initiatives over the past decade. Since the definition of computational thinking by Wing in 2006, this concept has gained significant attention within the educational community. Particularly this surge of interest has led to extensive research into its conceptual foundations and subsequent integration into educational curricula since 2013. National initiatives have since emerged to incorporate computational thinking into the educational system. Furthermore, as artificial intelligence and computing systems become increasingly integrated into daily life, there is a growing demand from industries for a workforce and graduates adept at critical thinking and problem-solving. Aligned with this national movement, our study presents a two-year institutional initiative, aimed at integrating computational thinking into the software engineering program. The software engineering discipline extensively involves design thinking and problem-solving skills. However, we noticed that these higher-level skills are not imparted early in the program to teach students this method of thinking and approaching problems. To bridge this skill gap, we developed a set of computational thinking modules and integrated them into a gateway course in the software engineering program. Over two years, we implemented this intervention in an introductory-level course and evaluated its impact on students' computational thinking skills by analyzing their responses to a standard Computational Thinking Assessment survey. The results showed significant improvement in most components. These early findings underscore the effectiveness of integrating these computational thinking modules into the gateway courses, regardless of the specific course topic. A notable feature of these modules is their adaptability to diverse engineering courses, suggesting broader applicability across disciplines. Moving forward, our research aims to expand the integration of the computational thinking modules into various courses in other institutes across the nation and analyze their impact on student performance.