Scratch as a Tool to Promote Computational Thinking in Technological Education

Abstract

The objective of this work is to improve computational thinking through the approach of algorithms in Scratch, thus giving a solution to the main problem detected, which is the case of knowledge of digital tools as a means for the development of computational thinking, this has led to the creation of a mobile application that teaches programming in Scratch. For the study, a mixed methodology with qualitative and quantitative approaches was used, and a pretest and a posttest based on exercises were applied to measure computational thinking. The following results were obtained as a starting point with the pretest, a value of 6.81, and at the end of the practice with the mobile application, the posttest assessment was 7.86, demonstrating a positive effect on the development of computational thinking. Therefore, it is concluded that the algorithms and the Scratch tool motivated the students and stimulated the development of computational thinking.