Preservice Teachers’ Use of Computational Thinking to Facilitate Inquiry-based Practical Work in Multiple-deprived Classrooms

Inquiry-based practical work (IBPW) is one of the innovative instructional strategies in science education. Science teacher preparation programmes play a role in preparing preservice teachers to facilitate IBPW in classrooms located in different school settings, including multiple-deprived classrooms. The adverse conditions against the successful implementation of IBPW found in multiple-deprived classrooms provide problems that preservice teachers will have to solve in their future classrooms. It is against this background that this study explored how preservice science teachers used computational thinking as a problem-solving strategy when facilitating IBPW in multiple-deprived classrooms. Using a single-case exploratory study, the experiences of 16 preservice physical sciences teachers were elicited through lesson planning, simulated teaching, and reflection. The data collected were analysed through thematic-content-analysis techniques. Findings indicate how through the use of computational thinking, participants were able to solve problems that had the potential to inhibit the implementation of IBPW.