A Conceptual Model for Developing Computational Competence in Basic Secondary School Students

<jats:p>The aim of the study is to develop a conceptual model for the formation of computational competence in students of basic secondary school and to substantiate the methodological foundations for its practical implementation in the process of studying science and mathematics disciplines. The relevance of the problem, examined in detail in our previous publication [16], is determined by the requirements of the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education regarding the cross-curricular formation of computational competence and by the need to bridge the identified gap between declared educational outcomes and the actual state of methodological support for this process. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study comprises the competence-based, activity-based, person-centred, integrative, systemic, and STEM-oriented approaches; its psychological and pedagogical foundation rests on B. Rogoff's [43] concept of guided participation, J. Anderson's [25] theory of the stage-by-stage acquisition of cognitive skill, and H. Kostiuk's [10] work on the psychological development of personality in learning activity, as well as on research into the cognitive characteristics of contemporary adolescents belonging to Generation Alpha. The study employed methods of theoretical analysis and systematisation of psychological, pedagogical, and normative literature; the method of pedagogical modelling for developing the structure of the conceptual model; and comparative-structural analysis of current model curricula in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography to identify the cross-curricular potential of each discipline. An integral six-component conceptual model was developed, comprising methodological, content, procedural, technological, structural-componential, and outcome blocks, defining the logic of the stage-by-stage formation of computational competence across Grades 5–6, 7–8, and 9. Based on an analysis of the cross-curricular links between algebra and geometry, on the one hand, and physics, chemistry, geography, and biology, on the other, a system of integrated competence-based tasks was developed to illustrate the practical implementation of the model using curricular content spanning basic secondary school — ranging from the use of standard form notation when studying atomic structure in Grade 7 to modelling exponential population growth in biology in Grade 9. The scientific novelty of the study lies in substantiating approximate calculation as a cross-cutting mechanism for implementing interdisciplinary links, rather than an isolated content unit in mathematics teaching, and in developing concrete methodological tools that account for the cognitive characteristics of Generation Alpha learners. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of directly using the developed model and system of integrated tasks by teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography in general secondary education institutions for designing competence-based lessons and interdisciplinary projects, as well as by methodological services in preparing instructional materials within the framework of the New Ukrainian School reform.</jats:p>