Research and practice of how to cultivate computational thinking in the college computer foundation course

"College Computer Foundation" is an entry course of university computer science courses. With the urgent requirement of quality education that requires to cultivate students innovative spirits and practical abilities, it is essential for modern college students to master the computer knowledge and thinking. Based on the long-time experience of teaching university computer course, teaching reform of "College Computer Foundation" is introduced in this paper. The goal of the reform is to teach computational thinking as well as professional knowledge and skills. The investigation shows that the final result is positive and there is still a long way to go. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK.