The Computational Thinking and Learning Initiative at Vanderbilt
Computational thinking (CT) is perhaps the cornerstone of the modern Information Age: the capacity to frame, analyze, disaggregate, and reconfigure problems to best leverage ever-expanding computational capability. CT is distinct from the high level application of data science; it is more concrete and more encompassing than the broader “digital literacy”; and it is inherent to, but not definitive of most disciplines, including the digital humanities. Every field and K-16 subject area has different approaches and needs that define their disciplinary knowledge and practices, and thus computational thinking in each discipline is a hybrid creation, connecting general computational methods with specific disciplinary ways of thinking and inquiring in generative ways. The Computational Thinking and Learning Initiative (CTLI) will develop the institutional capacities needed for Vanderbilt to foster innovative disciplinary computational thinking research and education across the university and in K12, and it will act as a nexus for re-imagining Vanderbilt.
Teaching Computational Thinking: The Grand Challenge
With advances in computation, the very nature of knowledge is changing. Across a variety of fields, computational methods, married with creative reframings of key disciplinary problems, have yielded phenomenal innovations. Producing such breakthroughs in research demands a hybrid perspective: on one hand, a sense of the nature and potential of computation; and on the other, a deep understanding of the disciplinary concepts, practices, and questions that can trigger radical innovation. The National Science Foundation has recently recognized similar dynamics in two of its ten “big ideas” for research: Convergence at the level of disciplines, and Work at the Human Technology Frontier at the level of creative human activity.
We call this hybrid work—of creatively combining computational methods with disciplinary ideas and practices—effective computational thinking. The Computational Thinking and Learning Initiative (CTLI) is based on the premise that Vanderbilt can cultivate this distinctive form of computational thinking (CT) as an institutional capacity and differentiator; and that fostering it at a trans-institutional level can powerfully reposition the University.
Our model of effective computational thinking as a hybrid activity highlights interdisciplinarity and collaborative inquiry. It builds on distinctive affordances of Vanderbilt’s identity and culture to achieve leadership. As opposed to taking a technocentric route, as instantiated in institutions like Carnegie Mellon and MIT, we envision an interdisciplinary path. While other Universities might dominate in advancing and licensing domain-general technologies and techniques, they will likely fail to support effective computational thinking that is sensitive to the nuances of research, particularly in disciplines “distant” from computer science, such as the humanities and social sciences, Vanderbilt’s core Liberal Arts strengths. In contrast, we aim to build on Vanderbilt’s trans-institutional commitments and successes. A rich array of resources and infrastructure resonate with the CTLI’s approach to computational thinking and will enable us to execute effectively on our ambitious plans.
