Introducing Computational Thinking to K-5 in a French Context

Computational Thinking (CT) is beginning to be accepted as one of the fundamental 21st century skills for everyone. Curricula and environments are being developed for different group ages, from kindergarten to university, in several countries. As part of this global tendency, France has recently taken political decisions to integrate CT Education (CTE) in the mandatory national curriculum. However, many challenges remain until a full implementation is achieved. In this paper we report on a partnership between a university, local elementary schools and the county Ministry of Education (MoE), and on an exploratory project of introducing CT to K-5 students. This project has provided us with valuable feedback on the specifics of integrating CT in a national curriculum and the creation of a partnership and a community. These lessons will be used in the following stage of scaling up to more elementary schools in the entire county, but also addressing other school levels such as kindergarten, middle school and high school.