The construct sense-reason-act (SRA) programming was introduced by van Lith (2006). In his masterclass in robotics, he described a process in which external, sensor-based observations (sense) are entered into a microprocessor, so that these observations can be compared with internal pre-set conditions (reason) which infers executing desired programming actions (act). The ability to anticipate changing conditions in the task design through sensor-based observations requires a different programming approach in comparison to linear solutions (Dragone et al., 2005). SRA-programming involves the functional understanding and application of complex programming concepts such as loops, conditionals and functions (Slangen, 2016). Sensor-based programming is known as a smart way of programming (Johansson & Balkenius, 2006). Being able to respond to changes in the task design by means of SRA-programming can ensure that users’ computational thinking ability develops at a higher level (Riedmiller & Gabel, 2007). However, it is not yet clear what influence the type of programming environment used, the task design and the influence of teachers has on this development. Furthermore, the link between SRA-programming and computational thinking has not yet been established and has therefore not been investigated. Nor is it clear to what extent and in what appearance the application of SRA-programming can contribute to the development of computational thinking skills.