A study of cooperative thinking

Abstract

Computational Thinking is a competence in computational problem solving. Cooperative Thinking (CooT) is an enhancement of Computational Thinking, supporting team-based computational problem solving. CooT is actually grounded on both Computational Thinking (CT) and Agile Values (AV) competencies, which focus respectively on the individual capability to think in a computational-oriented way (CT), and on the social dimension of software development (AV). However, CooT is not just the sum of CT and AV, rather it is a new overarching competence suitable to deal with complex software engineering problems. Previous papers focused on the conceptualization and the validation of Cooperative Thinking. We now analyze in depth the characteristics and consequences of this construct, with respect to the level of seniority and coding experience. Consequently, we run a Multi–Group Analysis of a representative stratified sample of High–School students, University students, and practitioners, through a Structural Equation Modeling technique. Our goal is to identify if there is a significant difference among groups with respect to the CooT model. Results show that seniority is a significant factor, suggesting as beneficial an early exposure of students to Cooperative Thinking practices.