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The activity was rated highly for motivation and engagement, attributed by many teachers to outdoor implementation and physical movement. Collaboration and communication were also viewed positively, though competitiveness sometimes distracted students. Findings support process-oriented observation for assessing computational thinking in unplugged settings and emphasize targeted professional development.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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[https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.2283](https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.2283)  \nAssessing Computational Thinking Practices and Engagement: Primary Teachers’ Reflections on an Unplugged Activity  \nJakob Škrobar*1, Andrej Flogie2, Alenka Lipovec3 and Nika Golob4  \n• Developing computational thinking in early primary education has gained increasing attention, with unplugged methods recognised as particularly effective for young learners. However, teachers’ assessment of computational thinking, especially through process-oriented approaches, remains underexplored. The present study investigates how the participating Slovenian primary school teachers assessed computational thinking practices and students’ engagement during an unplugged activity based on Bebras Challenge tasks. The results show that the teachers most frequently identified algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition and debugging, while decomposition and abstraction were observed less commonly. The activity received high ratings regarding the students’ motivation and engagement, which several of the teachers attributed to the fact that it was conducted outdoors and involved physical movement. Collaboration and communication were also positively evaluated, although some teachers noted that competitiveness occasionally distracted the students. Overall, the findings support the feasibility of using process-oriented observation to assess computational thinking practices in unplugged settings, highlighting the need for targeted professional development to help teachers implement and assess computational thinking meaningfully. These insights contribute to the growing body of research on computational thinking assessment in primary education, underscoring the importance of providing teachers with structured support and context-specific tools.  \nKeywords: assessment, computational thinking, primary school, STEM education, unplugged  \n1 *Corresponding Author. Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia, and Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Slovenia; [jakob.skrobar1@um.si](jakob.skrobar1@um.si).  \n2 Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia.  \n3 Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Slovenia, and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia.  \n4 Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Slovenia.  \n90 assessing computational thinking practices and engagement: primary teachers’...  \nVrednotenje veščin računalniškega mišljenja inangažiranosti: refleksije učiteljev razredne stopnje odejavnosti računalništva brez računalnika  \nJakob Škrobar, Andrej Flogie, Alenka Lipovec in Nika Golob  \n• Razvijanje računalniškega mišljenja v začetnih letih osnovnošolskega izobraževanja dobiva vse večjo pozornost, pri čemer je pristop računalništva brez računalnika posebej učinkovit pri mlajših učencih. Kljub temu ostaja vrednotenje računalniškega mišljenja na strani učiteljev, zlasti zuporabo procesno usmerjenih pristopov, premalo raziskano. V tej študiji analiziramo, kako so sodelujoči slovenski učitelji razredne stopnjevrednotili veščine računalniškega mišljenja in angažiranost učencev pridejavnosti računalništva brez računalnika, zasnovani na nalogah tekmovanja Bober. Izsledki kažejo, da so učitelji najpogosteje prepoznalialgoritmično mišljenje, vzorce ter prepoznavanje in odpravljanje napak, medtem ko sta bila dekompozicija in abstrakcija zaznani redkeje. Dejavnost je prejela visoke ocene glede motivacije in angažiranosti učencev, kar so učitelji pogosto povezovali z izvedbo na prostem in vključevanjem fizičnega gibanja. Sodelovanje in komunikacija sta bila prav takopozitivno ocenjena, čeprav je nekaj učiteljev opozorilo, da je lahko učence občasno ovirala tekmovalnost. Ugotovitve kažejo, da je pri pristopuračunalništva brez računalnika smiselno uporabiti procesno usmerjenovrednotenje veščin računalniškega mišljenja, hkr","cbCaiakrBdnXRBGy","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiakrBdnXRBGy","pdf",258671,22,"English","# Introduction\n## Defining CT","[{\"question\":\"What does the study examine regarding unplugged computational thinking in primary education?\",\"answer\":\"It examines how primary teachers assessed computational thinking practices and how they evaluated students’ engagement during an unplugged activity based on Bebras Challenge tasks.\"},{\"question\":\"Which computational thinking components teachers identified most and least often?\",\"answer\":\"Teachers most frequently identified algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition, and debugging, while decomposition and abstraction were observed less commonly.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was student engagement rated highly, according to teachers?\",\"answer\":\"Many teachers linked high motivation and engagement to the activity being conducted outdoors and involving physical movement, which likely enhanced participation.\"}]","Assessing Computational Thinking Practices and Engagement: Primary Teachers’ Reflections on an Unplugged Activity | PDF",1792087042,55]