Computational thinking skills of prospective mathematics teachers in an e-handout-supported online learning environment: An exploratory mixed-methods study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29408/jel.v12i3.35896Keywords:
algorithmic thinking, calculus, computational thinking, e-handout, online learning, prospective mathematics teachersAbstract
Deficiencies in computational thinking (CT) skills among prospective mathematics teachers have been documented across diverse educational contexts, particularly in higher-order calculus topics. This exploratory study describes the CT profiles, comprising decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking, of three prospective mathematics teacher students at Universitas Timor enrolled in an e-handout-supported online calculus course. A mixed-methods design combining rubric-based assessment with in-depth interviews was used to examine performance on two problem-solving tasks concerning Riemann sums and the fundamental theorem of calculus. Because only three purposively selected participants were involved, with neither a pre-test nor a comparison group, the findings are descriptive and hypothesis-generating rather than evaluative of instructional effectiveness. Within this small sample, students performed the strongest in decomposition (3.67 out of 4) and algorithmic thinking (3.00), whereas pattern recognition (1.83) and abstraction (1.67) were markedly weaker, particularly on the more conceptual second task. Procedural CT dimensions were therefore more readily displayed than higher-order ones in this setting, although no claim is made about the relative effectiveness of e-handouts. The findings identify design features worth investigating in future studies with larger samples and experimental designs, including visual tools, project-based tasks, and conceptual scaffolding embedded within e-handout materials.
References
Aboderin, O. S., & Havenga, M. (2024). Essential skills and strategies in higher education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A systematic literature review. South African Journal of Higher Education, 38(2), 24-43. https://doi.org/10.20853/38-2-5430
Ahzan, Z. N., & Simarmata, J. E. (2021). Development of calculus learning media based on timor island local wisdom with scilab implementation. AKSIOMA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika Volume, 10(4), 2615–2625. https://doi.org/10.24127/ajpm.v10i4.4385
Barnes, T., Garcia, D., Hawthorne, E., Pérez Quiñones, M., & Education, A. S. I. G. (2018). Analysis of collaborative learning in a computational thinking class. SIGCSE ’18 : Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 143–148.
Barrón-Estrada, M. L., Zatarain-Cabada, R., Romero-Polo, J. A., & Monroy, J. N. (2022). Patrony: A mobile application for pattern recognition learning. Education and Information Technologies, 27(1), 1237–1260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10636-7
Bergene, A. C., Wollscheid, S., & Gjerustad, C. (2023). Digital distance learning: A question of flexibility in time and space? Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 18(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.18261/njdl.18.2.5
Bilbao, J., García, O., Rebollar, C., Bravo, E., & Varela, C. (2021). Skills, attitudes and concepts of the computational thinking. Earth Sciences and Human Constructions, 1, 71–76. https://doi.org/10.37394/232024.2021.1.12
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
de Jesus, Â. M., & Silveira, I. F. (2022). A collaborative learning framework for computational thinking development through game programming. Informatics in Education, 21(2), 253–281. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2022.14
Djono, Sudiyanto, Sukmawati, F., & Salimi, M. (2024). Systematic literature review: effects of digital teaching materials on learning achievement. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 13(4), 2678–2688. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v13i4.26357
Dolgopolovas, V., & Dagiene, V. (2021). On the future of computational thinking education: Moving beyond the digital agenda, a discourse analysis perspective. Sustainability, 13(24), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413848
Ezeamuzie, N. O., Leung, J. S. C., & Ting, F. S. T. (2022). Unleashing the potential of abstraction from cloud of computational thinking: a systematic review of literature. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 60(4), 877–905. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331211055379
Hakim, A., Nurhikmah, N. H., Halisa, N., Febriati, F., Aras, L., & Lutfi, L. B. (2023). The effect of online learning on student learning outcomes in indonesian subjects. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 4(1), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.46843/jiecr.v4i1.312
Hooshyar, D., Malva, L., Yang, Y., Pedaste, M., Wang, M., & Lim, H. (2021). An adaptive educational computer game: Effects on students’ knowledge and learning attitude in computational thinking. Computers in Human Behavior, 114, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106575
Hudawi, M. N. (2020). The importance of e-learning for operational cost efficiency. Proceedings of the International Conference of Business, Economy, Entrepreneurship and Management, 441–443. https://doi.org/10.5220/0009964504410443
Ingkavara, T., Panjaburee, P., Srisawasdi, N., & Sajjapanroj, S. (2022). The use of a personalized learning approach to implementing self-regulated online learning. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 3(2022), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100086
Kumala, F. N., Dwi Yasa, A., Bin Haji Jait, A., Aji Prasetya Wibawa, & Laily Hidayah. (2023). Patterns of computational thinking skills for elementary prospectives teacher in science learning: gender analysis studies. International Journal of Elementary Education, 7(4), 646–656. https://doi.org/10.23887/ijee.v7i4.68611
Lehmann, T. H. (2025). Examining the interaction of computational thinking skills and heuristics in mathematical problem solving. Research in Mathematics Education, 27(2), 269–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2025.2460460
Lowenthal, P. R., & Lomellini, A. (2023). Accessible online learning: A preliminary investigation of educational technologists’ and faculty members’ knowledge and skills. TechTrends, 67(2), 384–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00790-1
Lye, S. Y., & Koh, J. H. L. (2014). Review on teaching and learning of computational thinking through programming: What is next for K-12? Computers in Human Behavior, 41(2014), 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.012
Maharani, S., Kholid, M. N., Pradana, L. N., & Nusantara, T. (2019). Problem solving in the context of computational thinking. Infinity Journal, 8(2), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.22460/infinity.v8i2.p109-116
Niemelä, P., Mikkolainen, V., & Vuorinen, J. (2018). Compute mindlessly. Not! map consciously. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 6(11), 2669–2678. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2018.061133
Oser, A., & Standl, B. (2025). Teaching and assessing abstraction in k-12 computational thinking education: a systematic literature review. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 33(5), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.70073
Popova, Y., Abdualiyeva, M., Torebek, Y., Yelshibekov, N., & Omashova, G. (2022). Improving the effectiveness of senior graders’ education based on the development of mathematical intuition and logic: Kazakhstan’s experience. Frontiers in Education, 7, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.986093
Ramadan, E. M., Jumadi, & Astuti, D. P. (2020). Application of e-handout based on PhET simulation to improve critical thinking skills and learning independence of high school students. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1440(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1440/1/012025
Rich, P. J., Egan, G., & Ellsworth, J. (2019). A framework for decomposition in computational thinking. Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE, 416–421. https://doi.org/10.1145/3304221.3319793
Rojas López, A., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2016). Relationship of knowledge to learn in programming methodology and evaluation of computational thinking. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality (TEEM’16), 73. https://doi.org/10.1145/3012430.3012499
Rosali, D. F., Suryadi, D., & Suhendra, S. (2024). Learning obstacles of junior high school students in computational thinking on number pattern lessons. KnE Social Sciences, 395–397. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v9i13.15940
Šiaulys, T. (2021). Developing interactive visualizations focusing on computational thinking in k-12 computer science education. Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE, 680–681. https://doi.org/10.1145/3456565.3460025
Sneider, C., Stephenson, C., Schafer, B., & Flick, L. (2014). Computational thinking in high school science classrooms. The Science Teacher, 81(05). https://doi.org/10.2505/4/tst14_081_05_53
Stacy, E. M., & Cain, J. (2015). Note-taking and handouts in the digital age. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 79(7), 1–6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4812780/
Tadeu, P., Kaya, D., & Kutluca, T. (2025). Enhancing computational thinking in preservice elementary math teachers through design-based learning. Millenium: Journal of Education, Technologies, and Health, 2025(27), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0227.40841
Tang, H., Schrimpf, M., Lotter, W., Moerman, C., Paredes, A., Caro, J. O., Hardesty, W., Cox, D., & Kreiman, G. (2018). Recurrent computations for visual pattern completion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(35), 8835–8840. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719397115
Tania, R., Jumadi, & Astuti, D. P. (2020). The application of physics e-handout assisted by PBL model use Edmodo to improve critical thinking skills and ICT literacy of high school students. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1440(1), 012037. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1440/1/012037
Ugur, N., & Çakiroglu, Ü. (2024). Implementing reflective thinking in computer science unplugged to enhance computational thinking. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 8(2), 196–218. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijtes.515
Van den Berg, C., & Verster, B. (2023). Integrating education for sustainable development into a sustainable-smart transdisciplinary learning framework. The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning, 18(2), 8–28. https://doi.org/10.17159/ijtl.v18i2.17292
Weihua, W. (2024). Analysis of learning characteristics of online learners in the context of smart education. ICST Transactions on Scalable Information Systems, 11(5). https://doi.org/10.4108/eetsis.5764
Wijaya, T. T., Cao, Y., Xiao, X., Rahmadi, I. F., & Gong, Y. (2025). Perspectives of secondary school teachers on the strengths and limitations of digital mathematics textbooks: an exploratory research in China. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04541-4
Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/1118178.1118215
Zhu, G., Kow, J. F., Fan, X., Yeter, I. H., Chit, L. S., & Ong, Y. S. (2025). Exploring undergraduate students’ computational thinking skills across engineering design processes. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 33(3), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.70035
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Zulkaidah Nur Ahzan, Tatang Herman, Al Jupri, Siti Fatimah, Maria Naimnule
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with the Jurnal Elemen agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Jurnal Elemen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
