Planning a dinner party, creating a playlist, or learning a foreign language represent real world examples of computational thinking. Computational Algorithmic Thinking (CAT), the ability to design, implement, and assess algorithms to solve a range of problems, focuses on understanding how learners understand a problem, articulate an algorithm or set of algorithms in the form of a solution to the problem, and evaluate the solution based on some set of criteria (Rankin & Thomas, 2016; Thomas, Rankin, Minor & Li, 2017). CAT, initially rooted in Mathematics to promote algorithmic thinking, is an important scaffolded on-ramp that enables students to develop more advanced computational thinking abilities (Rankin & Thomas, 2017). The key is to build upon students’ prior knowledge as a bridge to develop their CAT capabilities in an easily accessible, supportive learning environment.
Definition of Algorithm

All students have funds of knowledge or everyday experiences with eating or preparing food, ranging from the simple act of fixing a bowl of cereal for breakfast to cooking
Desert Challenge Student Strawberry Shortcake Desert Challenge