Promoting college students’ computational thinking: the use of constructionism-based accounting spreadsheets designing activities

Figures & data

Table 1. Lecturer and students’ activities in constructivism-based spreadsheets learning

Stages	Lecturer Activities	College Students Activities
Observing spreadsheets design (two weeks)	Explain and share spreadsheets designs with college students, then ask them to identify errors or deficiencies in the design based on spreadsheets error taxonomy. Assigning college students to decipher errors or deficiencies that have been identified into small parts.	Observing and identifying spreadsheets design errors or deficiencies shared by lecturers in groups. They identify errors or deficiencies based on spreadsheets error taxonomy. Deciphering errors or deficiencies that have been identified into small parts in groups
Planning spreadsheets design (two weeks)	Ask each group member to find alternative solutions through social media, then discuss the solutions obtained by each member of the group Ask college students to determine the best and most relevant solution, then compile the improvement steps in stages and detail.	Navigate and discuss alternative solutions obtained from social media within the group. Choose the best and most relevant solution. Make planning domain by structuring the solution steps in stages and detail. Make planning spreadsheets by drawing up the solution steps in stages and detail.
Executing spreadsheets design plans (two weeks)	Ask college students to input a planned reports template on worksheets Ask students to input formulas or coding in the report templates available in worksheets as planned.	Creating a needed reports template in order to compile financial statements on worksheets according to planning. Inputting formulas or coding in report templates available in worksheets as planned.
Evaluating spreadsheets design (one week)	Assigning college students to test the completed design, then asking them to create documentation of the design process from scratch	Test and refine the design, then create documentation of the design process from scratch
Sharing spreadsheets design (one week)	Ask college students to present their spreadsheets design video	Sharing videos containing the planning process to testing the design, and giving suggestions and criticisms of other groups’ designs

Table 2. Observing spreadsheets design stage

Meeting	College students Activities	Computational Thinking	Quotes
Week #1, 29 October 2021	Observing and identifying spreadsheets design errors or deficiencies shared by lecturers in groups. They identify errors or deficiencies based on spreadsheets’ error taxonomy.	Abstraction	“Spreadsheets design operationalized unfine and the company’s accounting cycle presented in unfull.”
Week #2, 3 November 2021	Deciphering errors or deficiencies that have been identified into small parts in groups	Decomposition	“When we input the wrong sales transaction, the delete button cannot delete per item, there is no purchase form, the inventories list only records the goods sold, does not record the goods purchased, and there is no sales/purchase column on credit, there is no list of customers and suppliers for the purposes of credit sales/purchases, there is no general journal form to record transactions other than sales or purchases, such as returns of goods, no income statement, changes in capital, balance sheets, and cash flows.”

Table 3. Planning spreadsheets design stage

Meeting	College students Activities	Computational Thinking	Quotes
Week #3, 10 November 2021	Navigate and discuss alternative solutions obtained from social media within the group.	Generalization	“Each member of our group is looking for how the process of coding VBA excel via Youtube”
	Choose the best and most relevant solution	Evaluation	“Each member of the group presents the search results of the Excel VBA coding process, after which we select one of the Excel VBA coding processes that were considered the best taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of each coding process.”
Week #4, 17 November 2021	Make planning domain by structuring the solution steps in stages and detail.	Algorithmic	“Add the necessary forms with the arrangement of sheet 1: company profile and accounting policies, sheet 2: company initial data, sheet 3: transactions, sheet 4: sales input form,… sheet 8: financial statements.”
	Make planning spreadsheets by drawing up the solution steps in stages and detail.	Algorithmic	“We prepare the necessary formulas and coding in each of the forms that we will use in creating spreadsheets design.”

Table 4. Executing spreadsheets design plan stage

Meeting	College students Activities	Computational Thinking	Quotes
Week #5, 24 November 2021	Creating a needed reports template in order to compile financial statements on worksheets according to planning.	Algorithmic	“Create the required forms into worksheets in Excel according to the original plan”
Week #6, 1 December 2021	Inputting formulas or coding in report templates available in worksheets as planned.	Algorithmic	“Creating formulas and coding on the necessary forms such as coding the cashier transaction sheet and creating formulas on other forms”

Table 5. Evaluating spreadsheets design stage

Meeting	College students Activities	Computational Thinking	Quotes
Week #7, 8 December 2021	Test and refine the design, then create documentation of the design process from scratch	Generalization and Evaluation	“We did a trial and error on our design and repair again because the cancel button worked unfine”

Table 6. Spreadsheets design sharing phase

Meeting	College students Activities	Computational Thinking	Quotes
Week #7, 15 December 2021	Sharing videos containing the planning process to testing the design, and giving suggestions and criticisms of other groups’ designs	Decomposition	“In my opinion, the weaknesses of the group design that I observed are 1) when operated there is still debugging because there is a lack of coding; … 4) cannot delete one transaction on the Cashier Transaction sheet (if clicked Cancel it will delete all transactions that have been inputted); 5) cannot delete one Transaction Data that has been inputted (if click delete it will be deleted all existing transaction data); 6) sheets of financial statements have not yet worked”
		Algorithmic	“In my opinion, the steps in overcoming these weaknesses include: 1) continuing the unresolved coding so that the application can run well; … 4) add coding in order to remove a single transaction and/or transaction data; 5) provide coding or links so that the sheets of financial statements can run well; 6) conduct trials and evaluations on applications that have been created