Effect of Unplugged Activities on Computational Thinking Skills of Grade 5 Students in Mathematics

Abstract

This study examined the effect of unplugged activities on the computational thinking skills of Grade 5 students in mathematics in District Faisalabad, Pakistan. The study was based on the view that computational thinking can be developed through regular mathematics teaching even in schools where digital resources are limited. Four components of computational thinking were considered: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was used. The sample consisted of 60 Grade 5 students selected from a public school, with 30 students in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. The experimental group was taught through researcher-developed unplugged activities integrated with Grade 5 mathematics content, while the control group received the usual teaching method. The intervention lasted for eight weeks, with five sessions per week. Data were collected through a researcher-developed computational thinking test. The pilot version of the instrument showed good reliability (α = .847), and the final 20-item form also showed satisfactory internal consistency (α = .827). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, analysis of covariance, and comparative domain-wise analysis. The findings showed that unplugged activities had a statistically significant positive effect on students’ overall computational thinking skills. After adjustment for pre-test differences, the experimental group obtained a higher post-test mean than the control group in overall computational thinking as well as in all four domains. The strongest improvement was found in algorithmic thinking, followed by decomposition, abstraction, and pattern recognition. The study concludes that unplugged activities provide a practical and effective way to develop computational thinking in primary mathematics, especially in low-resource public-school settings. The findings support the integration of computational thinking into mathematics teaching through structured, activity-based classroom practices.