Sarah Gretter

Michigan State University | MSU · Educational Psychology & Educational Technology

Despite the continued use of social media in educational contexts, there remains skepticism about whether platforms like Twitter can actually contribute to learning. In this paper, we argue that such skepticism is based on an overly narrow conception of learning that focuses on academic performance and disregards other manifestations. To advance th...

A quality computer science (CS) teacher needs to understand students’ common misconceptions in learning CS. This study explored one aspect of CS teachers’ understanding of student misconceptions: their perceptions of student misconceptions related to introductory programming. Perceptions in this study included three parts: teachers’ perceived frequ...

The current efforts to expand computer science (CS) education in K-12 schools, such as the “CS for All” initiative, highlight the need for all students to get an opportunity to study computing. However, as recent research has shown, diversity in computing at the K-12 level remains problematic, and additional research is needed to look at how comput...

In our hyper-connected era, individuals are constantly exposed to images and information that shape our digital culture. Possessing the competencies to understand how information is conveyed in our daily lives can therefore empower citizens to recognize its functions and effects on human communication. This chapter looks at the importance of media...

Design thinking has been receiving increased scholarly and popular interest in education; yet, teachers are often uncertain about what it means to implement this in their educational settings. Design thinking, nonetheless, offers a framework to address the challenging problems of practice educators face. In this article, we examine a graduate-level...

The new Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) Principles course increases the need for quality CS teachers and thus the need for professional development (PD). This article presents the results of a 2-year study investigating how teachers teaching the AP CS Principles course for the first time used online PD material. Our results showed tha...

Recent contentions about "fake news" and misinformation online has shed light on the critical need for media literacy at a global scale. Indeed, digital stories are one of the main forms of communication in the 21st century through blogs, videos-sharing websites, forums, or social networks. However, the line between facts and fiction can often beco...

The gender gap in computer science is worst amongst any of the STEM fields. At the secondary school level, only 18.6% of AP computer science test-takers in the United States were girls. In order to address the persistent gender gaps in computer science, it is important to understand K-12 students' views about computer science and programming. The p...

Computational thinking (CT) has been offered as a cross-disciplinary set of mental skills that are drawn from the discipline of computer science. Existing literature supports the inclusion of CT within the K-12 curriculum, within multiple subjects, and from primary grades upward. The use of computers as a context for CT skills is often possible, ye...

The increased push for teaching computer science (CS) in schools in the United States requires training a large number of new K-12 teachers. The current efforts to increase the number of CS teachers have predominantly focused on training teachers from other content areas. In order to support these beginning CS teachers, we need to better understand...

This chapter explores the case of a hybrid Spanish program where technology, standards, and teacherexpertise in foreign language education are merged to bolster students' learning. The chapter identifiesthe instructional elements relevant to 21st century foreign language education, and depicts the transactionalrelationship between technology, stand...

Technology, such as the Internet, is making newer forms of literacies more affordable; creating virtual spaces for engagement and participation more accessible. One such tool-social media-has quickly become a virtual space for the exchange of ideas, perspectives, and debates on social matters of critical importance to people. The younger generation...

Developing students’ 21st century skills, including creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving, has been a prevailing concern in our globalized and hyper-connected society. One of the key components for students to accomplish this is to take part in today’s participatory culture, which involves becoming creators of knowledge rather than bei...

This chapter explores the case of a hybrid Spanish program where technology, standards, and teacher expertise in foreign language education are merged to bolster students’ learning. The chapter identifies the instructional elements relevant to 21st century foreign language education, and depicts the transactional relationship between technology, st...

Case-based instruction has been found to increase student engagement and motivation in engineering classrooms. However, there is a lack of qualitative in-depth examination of student perceptions of the use of cases in engineering. The current study examined undergraduate engineering students’ perceptions of implementing case studies in a mechanical...

In spite of the increasing demand for professionals with computing experience in the workforce, computer science plays only a minor role in K-12 education. To meet the CS10K goal of training thousands of teachers to teach a new CS principles (CSP) course, a multi-pronged approach that targets both computer science teachers and teachers from other c...

Throughout history, societies have been compelled to narrate and fictionalize their life experiences; and over the centuries, technological advances have evolved alongside developments in narrative communication. By situating the relevance of today’s digital media in light of the emergence of the early modern novel during the Spanish Golden Age, th...