Computational Thinking and Social Skills in Virtuoso: An Immersive, Digital Game-Based Learning Environment for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The adoption of computational thinking (CT) has been increasing in K-12 classrooms and curricula. One population that could benefit from early instruction in CT is students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Unfortunately, many individuals with ASD lack the social competencies to successfully navigate a work environment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a digital games-based learning intervention for youth with ASD to learn computational thinking and social skills. Dubbed “Virtuoso”, the intervention targets youth with ASD to gain social skills while working together to solve introductory computer programming problems with virtual, programmable robots. One objective is to create learning materials that embed social competency instruction within a CT-focused curriculum. Another objective is to develop an immersive space where participants can work together on curricular content. Using educational design research methods, we are developing and refining instructional interventions so as to maximize their educational impact.