An Elaboration of Research Led Computer Science Framework for Early Education.

Teachers face challenges in teaching new subjects at the early primary level. The difficulties vary from subject to subject. Teachers' first challenge in Computer Science (CS) and Computational Thinking teaching is their technological literacy and competency challenges. Lack of confidence, time, and willingness are significant reasons for the challenge. One of the studies on mathematics teaching shows that teachers need more knowledge tools and models to facilitate the analysis during the teaching process. Researchers assert that educational practice has focused more on technology than on new pedagogies needed to truly use technology in a transformative way. Frameworks are designed to meet high-level objectives set by the authorities. Teachers are provided with teaching materials for developing the course contents. The frameworks act as a connection between high-level objectives and low-level teaching materials. In this paper, we present the elaboration of a framework for teaching CS at the early stages of education. The framework consists of three components based on modelling real-world problems into a machine-world context and then realising the machine solution in the real world. Moreover, the problem-solving component of the framework emphasizes the iterative process of learning that strengthens the previous concepts and provides a logical con-nection between the previous and new concepts. The framework was evaluated in the context of Saudi Arabia, where the teachers were interviewed individually and then provided with a guide for teaching grade-4 learners. The guide was developed using the material provided by the Saudi Ministry of Education. The teachers taught using this guide over a sequence of lessons. At the end of this time, a second individual teacher interview was conducted to determine teacher experience. The results show that teaching using the framework is effective, and it is not only easier for teachers to understand the teaching method but also for learners to learn the content quickly.