A Two-Systems Perspective for Computational Thinking

Abstract: Computational Thinking (CT) has emerged as one of the vital thinking skills in recent times, especially for Science, Technology, Engineering and Management (STEM) graduates. Educators are in search of underlying cognitive models against which CT can be analyzed and evaluated. This paper suggests adopting Kahneman's two-systems model as a framework to understand the computational thought process. Kahneman's two-systems model postulates that human thinking happens at two levels, i.e. fast and slow thinking. This paper illustrates through examples that CT activities can be represented and analyzed using Kahneman's two-systems model. The potential benefits of adopting Kahneman's two-systems perspective are that it helps us to fix the biases that cause errors in our reasoning. Further, it also provides a set of heuristics to speed up reasoning activities.