Studying Synergistic Learning of Physics and Computational Thinking in a Learning by Modeling Environment

Synergistic learning of computational thinking (CT) and STEM has proven to effective in helping students develop better understanding of STEM topics, while simultaneously acquiring CT concepts and practices. With the ubiquity of computational devices and tools, advances in technology, and the globalization of product development, it is important for our students to not only develop multi-disciplinary skills acquired through such synergistic learning opportunities, but to also acquire key collaborative learning and problem- solving skills. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a collaborative learning-by-modeling environment developed for high school physics classrooms. We develop systematic rubrics and discuss the results of key evaluation schemes to analyze collaborative synergistic learning of physics and CT concepts and practices.