Developing Students' Computational Thinking to Bridge the Gap between Their Lived Experiences and Math Classes

This article investigates the complex lived experiences of Brazilian high school students (aged 15-16) within a sociocultural environment profoundly influenced by digital transformation, and how these shape their motivations and objectives concerning mathematics teaching and learning. Students expressed frustration with school mathematics, perceiving it as disconnected from their technology-rich daily lives and future aspirations. Grounded in Historical-Cultural Theory, this study proposes that integrating Computational Thinking (CT) offers a promising pathway to bridge this gap. A qualitative case study, employing the historical-dialectical materialist method, guided the investigation with six students through online meetings, using semi-structured interviews and tasks with Scratch and GeoGebra. Data analysis focused on “lived experiences,” applying Vygotski's principles to interpret student narratives. Findings show students deeply value technology and see mathematics linked to computing, yet find school lacking this connection. Integrating CT's pillars (decomposition, pattern recognition, algorithm, abstraction) into mathematics tasks proved instrumental. Students effectively employed these strategies, fostering deeper conceptual understanding and logical reasoning, transforming their perception of mathematics as relevant. This study highlights how culturally relevant pedagogy, leveraging CT, significantly enhances mathematics learning in a digital age.