What is Computational Thinking?

Computational thinking means thinking like a computer in order to solve problems and create programs. Computational thinking skills are useful for coding, and they’re also useful for solving problems in everyday life. These skills involve using different levels of problem solving as you design and write a solution or program.

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Abstraction

Looking at a problem from different angles, or zooming in or out to focus on different parts of the problem.

Decomposition

Taking a complicated problem and breaking it into smaller parts that are easier to understand and solve.

Pattern recognition

Noticing when something gets repeated and using it to make predictions or solve problems more efficiently.

Algorithmic thinking

Developing a clear, specific step-by-step description (an algorithm) for how to solve a problem or complete a task.

Debugging

Testing a solution or program, finding errors, figuring out what’s wrong, and fixing it.