Introduction to Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is critical for solving problems and using data effectively in modern society, but what is computational thinking anyway? Computational thinking is really a way to solve problems by specifying detailed, step-by-step solutions to those problems; collecting, representing, and analyzing data to support drawing conclusions or making decisions; and using a variety of techniques to improve the efficiency of our problem solutions. 

This course is designed to help you learn key computational thinking topics and develop your skills in those areas.

Learn About and Develop Computational Thinking Skills

• Algorithms and Procedures
• Data Collection, Representation, and Analysis
• Problem Decomposition
• Abstraction
• Automation
• Simulation
• Parallelization

Contents and Overview

In over 4 1/2 hours of content including 57 lectures, this course covers core computational thinking concepts. Four of the lectures include active learning activities integrated into the lectures, and the course also includes 13 additional exercises and topic understanding checks you can use to evaluate and hone your computational thinking skills.

The course includes lots of practice because computational thinking is a  set of skills that most people need to develop by applying those skills rather than just hearing someone talk about them!

When you finish the course, you should be able to develop detailed step-by-step solutions to a variety of problems, think about and interpret data, and understand how different techniques improve problem solution efficiency.