Towards a conceptualization of Computational Thinking as situated

Abstract Computational thinking (CT) is currently being introduced into non-computer science disciplines at all educational levels. Many who have written on or implemented CT in educational contexts claim that CT is a universally applicable set of general problem-solving skills. I challenge this claim by discussing how CT is used in practice within everyday contexts and in learning within different disciplines. I propose an alternative conceptualization of computational thinking as being socially and disciplinarily situated and transforming across these contexts. I discuss the significance of a situated conceptualization of CT for educational and research practices, highlighting through example cases the risks that choosing an inadequate conceptualization of CT has for disciplinary learning. These risks include concentrating student learning time on neither meeting discipline-specific learning objectives nor on developing computer science skills, but on an artificial intermediary. Key questions for future research are identified, centring around the realization of CT in different disciplinary settings, its transformation across contexts, and how to develop and test assessment formats that take CT’s situated nature into account.