Examining students’ computational thinking skills in enhanced-technology mathematics lessons: the effects of gender and grade levels

Computational thinking (CT) has been argued as an essential skill for all students, critical to surviving in the 21st-century era and navigating through a more digital world. Understanding the impact of variables such as gender and age on the development of problem-solving skills is essential for creating equal educational experiences. This research aims to investigate the impact of gender and grade level on students’ CT performances while learning mathematics. The researchers employed the Educational Design Research (EDR) methodology to develop and implement a sequence of integrated CT in mathematics tasks with GeoGebra. This study involved 88 high school students in grades 7–10 (ages 12–16). The researchers collected data from students’ work in GeoGebra classrooms and analyzed them using non-parametric statistical tests combined with the Rasch analysis method to examine the effect of gender and grade levels on students’ CT skills. The overall results indicated no significant differences in CT skills between male and female students. Grade levels affected students’ CT skills, and this indicated that grade levels contribute to the different CT skills.