#915: Trajectory-Based Engagement in Early Computational Thinking –Modeling Embodied Pathways Toward Abstraction

This study investigates how young children’s use of gesture and spatial alignment supports the development of computational thinking (CT) during robotics problem-solving. Extending Lesh’s representational fluency model and drawing on embodied cognition theory, this study proposes a modified Lesh representation translation model that adds Gesture and Spatial Alignment as intermediary representational modes. Six elementary students participated in a short-term classroom-based robotics program using a programmable mouse. Across nine tasks, each child provided both verbal and tangible–symbolic representations, with condition order counterbalanced. Quantitative analyses (Wilcoxon signed-rank; Friedman test with Kendall’s W) showed significant CT gains on pre- and post-tests and steady improvement in task performance metrics. Qualitative fieldnote analysis revealed a progression from gestural strategies to more deliberate symbolic planning. Results suggest that embodied engagement fosters abstraction in early CT learning and demonstrate how representational scaffolding can inform the design of developmentally appropriate CT learning experiences for young learners.