Plugged Versus Unplugged Activities in Mathematics Learning to Promote Computational Thinking Skills: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Ahmad Lutfi Fauzi, Yaya S. Kusumah, Elah Nurlaelah, Dadang Juandi

Abstract

Although many empirical studies have explored how plugged (technology-based) and unplugged (non-digital) activities foster students’ computational-thinking (CT) skills in mathematics classrooms, their qualitative findings have never been brought together in a systematic synthesis. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review coupled with a qualitative meta-synthesis. A comprehensive search of the Scopus database retrieved 14 peer-reviewed articles and conference papers published between 2004 and 2023 that reported qualitative evidence on the topic. Guided by grounded-theory procedures—open, axial and selective coding—implemented in NVivo 14, we analysed the data. The synthesis shows that mathematics lessons enriched with plugged activities—particularly educational robotics, augmented-reality applications and virtual mathematics laboratories—enabled learners to demonstrate the full spectrum of CT components: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithm design and evaluation. By contrast, lessons relying solely on unplugged activities fostered only limited aspects of CT. These results indicate that technology-enhanced (plugged) learning experiences are more effective than unplugged tasks for cultivating computational thinking in mathematics. We therefore recommend that mathematics educators systematically integrate suitable educational technologies to strengthen students’ CT skills and suggest that future research examine how specific design features of plugged activities contribute to different CT components.

 

Keywords: Computational thinking; Mathematics learning; Plugged activities; Qualitative meta-synthesis; Systematic review; Unplugged activities.

 

https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.52.5.10


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