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Computer science for all: A school reform framework for broadening participation in computing

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... This requires approaches that address inherent challenges in teaching CT: bridging the digital divide faced by students with differing levels of computational proficiency and technological access who are entering a world requiring computational literacy (Martin et al., 2015;Mishra & Yadav, 2013;Smith, 2016;Vogel et al., 2017). While research on methods for broadening participation in CS education for under-represented students is growing (Goode et al., 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013;Ladner & Israel, 2016;Santo et al., 2019), there is less research exploring precisely how teacher instruction can be leveraged to help students with exceptionalities successfully access CS curricula. ...
... Within the field of CS education, computational thinking (CT) is identified as a critical skill needed to address 21 st century problems (Gover & Pea, 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013;Smith, 2016;Wing, 2006). As a result, there has been a great push to integrate CT into K-12 education (Goode et al., 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013). Broadly defined, CT refers to processes used to formulate thoughts and questions in a manner interpretable by computers to achieve desired results (Wing, 2006). ...
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Background and Context: Computational Thinking (CT) is a skill all students should learn. This requires using inclusive approaches to teach CT to a wide spectrum of students. However, strategies for teaching CT to students with exceptionalities are not well studied. Objective: This study draws on lessons learned in two fourth-grade classrooms-one an inclusive general education classroom including students with and without disabilities, the other an inclusive GATE classroom including students with and without giftedness-to illustrate how CT frameworks can inform inclusive CS instruction. Method: A comparative case study design integrating content analysis and first and second cycle coding of data was used to analyze teachers' instructional strategies using a CT framework. Data included transcriptions of audio-recorded classroom lessons, field notes, and conversations with teachers and students. Findings: While each teacher used different strategies, both were effective in developing students' CT. Explicit instruction provided students receiving special education services with needed structure for the complex tasks inherent to computing. Peer feedback facilitated independent computational practice opportunities for students receiving GATE. Implications: This study highlights how inclusive instructional practices can be assessed using a CT framework and leveraged to maximize learning and access to CT curricula for learners with exceptionalities.
... Middle grades (ages [11][12][13] have been identified as a pivotal point in students' educational trajectories where they should have ample opportunities to learn and develop favorable dispositions towards STEM domains such as CS [16,44]. However, middle school students engaging in CS-related activities such as programming often possess wide variability in their prior knowledge and experience [6,18]. ...
... However, middle school students engaging in CS-related activities such as programming often possess wide variability in their prior knowledge and experience [6,18]. This highlights the importance to developing pedagogical strategies and learning environments that are inclusive and engage novice learners, especially those from populations historically marginalized from participation in CS-related activities [12,33]. ...
... This requires approaches that address inherent challenges in teaching CT: bridging the digital divide faced by students with differing levels of computational proficiency and technological access who are entering a world requiring computational literacy (Martin et al., 2015;Mishra & Yadav, 2013;Smith, 2016;Vogel et al., 2017). While research on methods for broadening participation in CS education for under-represented students is growing (Goode et al., 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013;Ladner & Israel, 2016;Santo et al., 2019), there is less research exploring precisely how teacher instruction can be leveraged to help students with exceptionalities successfully access CS curricula. ...
... Within the field of CS education, computational thinking (CT) is identified as a critical skill needed to address 21 st century problems (Gover & Pea, 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013;Smith, 2016;Wing, 2006). As a result, there has been a great push to integrate CT into K-12 education (Goode et al., 2018;Grover & Pea, 2013). Broadly defined, CT refers to processes used to formulate thoughts and questions in a manner interpretable by computers to achieve desired results (Wing, 2006). ...
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Full-text available
Background and Context Computational Thinking (CT) is a skill all students should learn. This requires using inclusive approaches to teach CT to a wide spectrum of students. However, strategies for teaching CT to students with exceptionalities are not well studied. Objective This study draws on lessons learned in two fourth-grade classrooms – one an inclusive general education classroom including students with and without disabilities, the other an inclusive GATE classroom including students with and without giftedness – to illustrate how CT frameworks can inform inclusive CS instruction. Method A comparative case study design integrating content analysis and first and second cycle coding of data was used to analyze teachers’ instructional strategies using a CT framework. Data included transcriptions of audio-recorded classroom lessons, field notes, and conversations with teachers and students. Findings While each teacher used different strategies, both were effective in developing students’ CT. Explicit instruction provided students receiving special education services with needed structure for the complex tasks inherent to computing. Peer feedback facilitated independent computational practice opportunities for students receiving GATE. Implications This study highlights how inclusive instructional practices can be assessed using a CT framework and leveraged to maximize learning and access to CT curricula for learners with exceptionalities.
... These courses have gained popularity to the point where in many high schools, there is more demand for the course than there are teachers prepared to teach them (Cross, 2017). These courses have dramatically increased the number and diversity of students who are taking CS courses (Astrachan, Gray, Beth, Osborne, & Lee, 2014;Cuny, 2015;Goode et al., 2018). ...
... The object of programming changed from a mediational use for mathematics to a subject and content area of its own when computer science became a subject of its own within schools (Aspray, 2016). As such, interventions to increase diversity in computer science have been considered under the assumption that computer science is an entity of its own (Fields et al., , 2016(Fields et al., , 2017aGoode et al., 2014Goode et al., , 2018Kafai, Fields, & Searle, 2014b;Margolis et al., 2015;Perković et al., 2010;Rennert-May et al., 2012;Settle et al., 2013). From the reporting of the teachers in this study, some teachers now consider coding to be a tool for engagement and problem solving. ...
... Finally, the instructional materials used in K-12 settings often fail to reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the students being served. This shortfall in culturally responsive teaching materials is an overlooked aspect in CS education as it relates to inclusiveness (Goode, 2008;Goode et al., 2018). ...
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Over the last decade, there has been an explosion of national interest in computer science (CS) education. In response to this, several organizations and initiatives have emerged in recent years to expand the CS pipeline. However, within these broad and laudable efforts, one important area has been largely overlooked—the instruction of CS to multilingual students, including the large and growing number of students designated as English learners in K-12 schools. These are one of the most underserved and understudied groups in CS education. In this article, we draw on existing research, as well as our own and others’ theoretical and empirical work to date, to put forth both a framework and curriculum for teaching CS to multilingual students.
... While extraordinary efforts have been taken in the past decade to close gaps in computing participation (Code. org Advocacy Coalition et al., 2020), women and people of color continue to participate at lower rates in computing jobs in comparison to their overall workforce participation (Fry et al., 2021;Goode et al., 2018). Before learners reach postsecondary and career stages of their lives, hackathons may be used as part of a larger "network of efforts" (Richard et al., 2015, p. 10) within STEM education to attract diverse participants to computing. ...
Article
As schools endeavor to provide all students with access to computational thinking and computer science, the hackathon emerges as a competitive and high-energy event that uses authentic problems to motivate learners to engage in the domain of computing. This article presents the design case of a hackathon for teenagers as enacted over five iterations by faculty and staff at a Southeastern public university in the United States. Given a problem in the local community, participating teenagers collaborated in a mentor-supported environment to design, develop, and communicate software-based solutions. Using trustworthiness from naturalistic inquiry as a guiding approach to build the design case, our methods draw on multiple data sources, peer debriefing, member checks, and thick description. This design case contributes detailed descriptions and design rationales related to the youth hackathon’s evolving features. It provides all levels of designers with useful pedagogical and logistical resources to support efforts to enact hackathons in novel settings.
... Despite the increasing emphasis on providing physical computing learning experiences, the explicit inclusion of physical computing within standards and curricula in the U.S. has lagged behind other countries. Following President Barack Obama's Computer Science for All initiative in 2016 (Goode et al., 2018), physical computing began to gain more attention within STEM education contexts in the U.S. Scholars suggested physical computing as a viable approach to provide authentic design-based learning experiences while simultaneously addressing a myriad of crosscutting STEM concepts called for in U.S. standards such as the K-12 Computer Science Standards (CSTA, 2017), the Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy (STEL) (ITEEA, 2020), and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013) Love et al., , 2023Love & Asempapa, 2022;Love & Griess, 2020;Love & Strimel, 2016;Park & Kwon, 2022;. Given the proposed learning benefits of physical computing related to design, innovation, CT, programming, and problem-solving skills, there have been increasingly more calls for integrating physical computing within STEM curricula in the U.S. (Love et al., , 2023Love & Asempapa, 2022;. ...
Article
Providing greater access to computer science (CS) education for K-12 students in the United States (U.S.) has increased interest in integrating CS concepts within authentic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) contexts. Physical computing is one method that has demonstrated promising results in other countries (e.g. England) and has been receiving growing attention in the U.S., yet there remains limited research on physical computing within the U.S. Therefore, this study utilized a modified version of the Computing Attitude Questionnaire (Yadav et al., 2014) to examine changes in 71 middle school students’ attitudes toward computing after participating in a four-week physical computing unit. Students reported significant gains in all five computing attitude constructs (definition, comfort, interest, classroom applications, and career/future use). Further analyses revealed male students had significantly greater gains than females in the career/future use construct, and there were no significant differences when controlling for completion of prior engineering design coursework (PEDC). Additionally, while the majority (77%) of students indicated they preferred physical computing over screen-based experiences for future computing lessons, analyses found gender and PEDC were not significant predictors of students’ preference for learning computing concepts. This study provides implications for improving computer science instruction within authentic STEM contexts.
... A wealth of research has investigated ways to broaden and democratize participation within computer science in the USA and abroad with respect to gender and race [32,33]. Recently, scholars and public figures have made calls for "Computer Science for All" 2 to reduce inequities and make learning more accessible in and out of schools [19,43]. Various equity-oriented strategies have arisen, but the work to truly carry out this vision remains ongoing and complex, as educators, policymakers, and various levels of government seek to align around what a shared vision and plan for action should look like [49,56]. ...
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We use an autoethnographic case study of a Latinx high school student from a rural, agricultural community in California to highlight how AI is learned outside classrooms and how her personal background influenced her social-justice oriented applications of AI technologies. Applying the concept of learning pathways from the learning sciences, we argue that redesigning AI education to be more inclusive with respect to socioeconomic status, ethnoracial identity, and gender is important in the development of computational projects that address social-injustice. We also learn about the role of institutions, power structures, and community as they relate to her journey of learning and applying AI. The future of AI, its potential to address issues of social injustice and limiting the negative consequences of its use, will depend on the participation and voice of students from the most vulnerable communities.
... For example, the Obama Administration's 2016 "Computer Science for All" (CSforAll) initiative provided $4 billion in state funding and $100 million directly to schools to expand K-12 computer science education. By 2017, at least 3,343 schools across 39 states, involving 77 school districts and 303 individual schools, committed to explicitly academic CS curriculum (i.e., the introductory "Exploring Computer Science" course was designed to be "college-preparatory"; see Goode et al., 2018). ...
Article
Existing scholarship suggests that schools do the work of social stratification by functioning as “sorting machines,” or institutions that determine which populations of students are provided educational resources needed to help them get ahead. We build on this theory of social reproduction by extending it to better understand how digital technology use is implicated in this process of unequal resource allocation in schools. We contend that educational resources, like digital technologies, are also sorted by schools. Drawing on scholarship from both education research and science and technology studies, we show how educational institutions have long played a role in constructing the value of technologies to different ends, by constructing hierarchies of technological activity, like “vocational” and “academic” computer use, even when strikingly similar. We then apply this lens to three areas of inquiry in education research: the use of digital technologies for instruction, school use of student data, and college admissions. Each illustrates how education scholars can view technologies as part of school sorting processes and with implications for inequality within and beyond the classroom.
... al 2017). Administrators are ultimately the ones responsible for determining the appropriate pedagogical and social emotional practices that create equitable schools (Ryoo, 2014;Goode, Flapan et al., 2018). ...
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p> Background and Context: Most large-scale statewide initiatives of the Computer Science for All (CS for All) movement have focused on the classroom level. Critical questions remain about building school and district leadership capacity to support teachers while implementing equitable computer science education that is scalable and sustainable. Objective: This statewide research-practice partnership, involving university researchers and school leaders from 14 local education agencies (LEA) from district and county offices, addresses the following research question: What do administrators identify as most helpful for understanding issues related to equitable computer science implementation when engaging with a guide and workshop we collaboratively developed to help leadership in such efforts? Method: Participant surveys, interviews, and workshop observations were analyzed to understand best practices for professional development supporting educational leaders. Findings: Administrators value computer science professional development resources that: (a) have a clear focus on “equity;” (b) engage with data and examples that deepen understandings of equity; (c) provide networking opportunities; (d) have explicit workshop purpose and activities; and (e) support deeper discussions of computer science implementation challenges through pairing a workshop and a guide. Implications: Utilizing Ishimaru and Galloway’s (2014) framework for equitable leadership practices, this study offers an actionable construct for equitable implementation of computer science including (a) how to build equity leadership and vision; (b) how to enact that vision; and (c) how to scale and sustain that vision. While this construct applies to equitable leadership practices more broadly across all disciplines, we found its application particularly useful when explicitly focused on equity leadership practices in computer science.</p
... Yet, as many of us have personally experienced and/or understand: such an effort is not as simple as merely bringing CS curricula or educators into schools (Goode et al., , 2018Margolis et al., 2012). Simply teaching students how to program does not necessarily motivate interest or engagement (Margolis & Fisher, 2001). ...
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Background and Context Overlaying Computer Science (CS) courses on top of inequitable schooling systems will not move us toward “CS for All.” This paper prioritizes the perspectives of minoritized students enrolled in high school CS classrooms across a large, urban school district in the Western United States, to help inform how CS can truly be for all. Objective This paper explores what student agency looks like while answering the research question “From the perspective of minoritized students historically underrepresented in computing, what makes a critical difference in their sense of agency in introductory CS high school classes?” Method Our research-practice partnership used qualitative data (including classroom observations, interviews, student artifacts, and video/photos) and surveys to surface the perspectives and visions of minoritized youth. Findings The research describes what student agency looks like as youth – who have had no prior CS learning experiences – use CS as a tool to resist marginalization and dehumanizing school contexts, while declaring their own “rightful presence” in CS classrooms. Implications Findings demonstrate the importance for CS curricula and pedagogy to center the lives of students in ways that are consequential for minoritized youth. This would support deeper engagement with content learning and student agency with computing.
... Further, exam scores for historically underserved students are much lower than those of their peers. For instance, Latina and Black girls are only half as likely as their White and Asian classmates to be awarded scores of 3 or higher on the CSA exam [8]. ...
... Oakes proposes attending to three dimensions of change that influence the social organization of schools: the technical, normative, and political elements of school reform. Further, given the empirical base highlighting the influence of teacher quality on students' opportunities to learn (Darling-Hammond, 2008), we extend Oakes' theoretical frame to highlight the empirical data suggesting the importance of a fourth dimension: pedagogy (Goode et al., 2018). ...
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This paper reports on a statewide “Computer Science for All” initiative in Oregon that aims to democratize high school computer science and broaden participation in an academic subject that is one of the most segregated disciplines nationwide, in terms of both race and gender. With no statewide policies to support computing instruction, Oregon's legacy of computer science education has been marked by both low participation and by rates of underrepresented students falling well-below the already dismal national rates. The study outlined in this paper focuses on how teacher education can support educators in developing knowledge and agency, and impacting policies and practices that broaden participation in computing. In particular, this research seeks to understand two questions. First, how do teachers experience equity-focused professional development in preparation for teaching an introductory course in computer science? Second, this study queries, how do teachers understand their own agency in influencing policies and practices that broaden participation in their specific schools and classrooms? To answer these questions, this inquiry employed a mixed method approach, drawing from surveys, observations, and interview data of two cohorts of teachers who participated in the Exploring Computer Science professional development program. To show the variety of school contexts and situate computer science education in local and place-based policies and practices, three teacher case studies are presented that illustrate how individual teachers, in diverse geographic and demographic settings, are building inclusive computer science opportunities in their schools. The findings reveal that centering equity-focused teacher professional development supports teachers in formulating the confidence, knowledge and skills that lead to inclusive computer science instruction, computer science content, and equity-centered pedagogy. The findings also highlight how school reform in computer science requires not only technical and pedagogical supports and structures, but also a systemic rethinking and reworking of normative and political forces that are part of the fabric of schools. Based on these findings of teacher knowledge and agency, the paper concludes with a presentation of particular statewide policies and practices that are generative in broadening belief systems and expanding political capacity of computer science education to reach all students.
... Coding is a key skill for K-12 students regardless of their future career paths (Goode et al. 2018;K-12 Computer Science Framework Steering Committee 2016;Obama 2016). Teaching with coding prepares K-12 students for jobs that involve coding and computational thinking (Barr and Stephenson 2011; Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) & International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2011; National Science and Technology Council 2016). ...
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Learning standards for K-12 science education emphasize the importance of engaging students in practices that scientists perform in their profession. K-12 teachers are expected to engage students in scientific modeling, which entails constructing, testing, evaluating, and revising their own models of science phenomena while pursuing an epistemic goal. However, conceptualizing models of unobservable science phenomena without support is daunting for students. We propose that creating science simulations with block-based coding in Scratch is a promising approach to support student’s scientific modeling and learning to code. However, research indicates that preservice and in-service science teachers often hold a deficient understanding of scientific modeling instruction, and lack experience teaching with coding. Professional learning on use of block-based coding in scientific modeling instruction is needed though such interdisciplinary research is scarce. In this paper, we review pertinent literature and propose five guidelines for teacher educators striving to offer such professional learning. The guidelines informed the design and development of coding in scientific modeling lessons (CS-ModeL), which is a module and an online tool for scaffolding teachers’ learning to code science simulations, and to integrate simulation coding activities into scientific modeling lessons, respectively. We discuss how guidelines informed the design and development of CS-ModeL, as well as plans for future research.
Article
Background & Context: With the growing movement to adopt critical framings of computing, scholars have worked to reframe computing education from the narrow development of programming skills to skills in identifying and resisting oppressive structures in computing. However, we have little guidance on how these framings may manifest in classroom practice. Objectives: To better understand the processes and practice of critical pedagogy in a computing classrooms, we taught a critically conscious computing elective within a summer academic program at a northwest United States university targeted at secondary students (ages 14-18) from low-income backgrounds and would be the first in their families to pursue a postsecondary education (i.e. first-generation). We investigated: (1) our participants’ initial perceptions of and attitudes toward the benefits and perils of computing, and (2) potential tensions that might emerge when secondary students negotiate the integration of critical pedagogy in a computing classroom. Methods: We qualitatively coded participant work from a critically conscious computing course within a summer academic program in the United States focused on students from low-income backgrounds or would be the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education. Findings: Our participants’ initial attitudes towards technology were mostly positive, but exhibited an awareness of its negative impacts on their lives and society. Throughout the course, while participants demonstrated a rich social consciousness around technology, they faced challenges in addressing hegemonic values embedded in their programs, designs, and other classwork. Implications: Our findings revealed tensions between our participants’ computing attitudes, knowledge, self-efficacy, and social consciousness, suggesting pathways for scaffolding the critical examination of technology in secondary education. This study provides insights into the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for critical computing education.
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Instrument development is an important step towards unlocking the analytical power of teacher attitudes and beliefs towards Computer Science (CS). Teacher dispositions have strong empirical and theoretical ties to teacher motivation, professional choices, and classroom practices. To determine consensus desirable attitudes and beliefs we analyzed 17 key documents produced by 12 national and international organizations associated with CS and the CS education reform movement. An analysis of 98 relevant coded segments yielded four dispositional targets: an equity orientation, a teacher growth mindset, and key beliefs regarding (career) outcomes and epistemology of CS. Statements crafted for these targets as well as self-efficacy were reviewed through an expert panel (N = 5) and a pilot study (N = 22) before the T-ABC was administered to elementary teachers in a large grant-funded outreach project (N = 772). Psychometric analysis demonstrates high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and satisfactory extraction and loading onto a three factor model, with CS beliefs, growth mindset, and self-efficacy as major factors. Identification and measurements of teacher dispositions enables further analysis of how teacher beliefs may support or hinder effective practice in CS instruction, how teacher populations may differ, and how identified dispositions may change with exposure to various CS learning experiences.
Article
Helping students learn to identify and respond to situations involving discrimination is important, especially in fields like Computer Science where there is evidence of an unwelcoming climate that disproportionately drives underrepresented students out of the field. While students should not be considered responsible for fixing issues around discrimination in their institutions, they do have a role to play. In this paper, we present the results of a study in which 318 undergraduate computer science majors were presented with scenarios of discrimination and asked to identify the issues, rate the severity of the issues, and ideate 3-5 responses to address the described situations. They were also asked to identify which of their responses would likely be most effective in addressing discrimination and which of their responses they would be most likely to use if they were in the situation described in real life. Our results show that while students generally are able to identify various forms of discrimination (sexism, racism, religious discrimination, ethnic discrimination, etc.), any ambiguity in a scenario led to students describing the scenario as less severe and/or as an example of oversensitivity. We also show that students come up with many passive responses to scenarios of discrimination (such as ignoring the situation or wishing it had not happened in the first place). Students in our study were more likely to say they would deploy passive responses in real life, shying away from responses that involve direct confrontation. We observed some differences between student demographic subgroups. Women and BIPOC students in CS tend to think these issues are more severe than men and White and Asian students in CS. Women are more likely to ideate direct confrontation responses and report willingness to use direct confrontation responses in real situations. Our work contributes a methodology for examining student awareness and understanding of diversity issues as well as a demonstration that undergraduate computer science students need help in learning how to address common situations that involve either intentional or unintentional discrimination in an academic environment.
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This qualitative case study describes how participation in an outside-of-school program sustained middle school girls’ interest in computer science and positively influenced their computational perspectives. Data consists of interviews, observations, and videos analyzed from ten girls participating in a nine-month program during 2017–2018. Connected learning and computational participation are the study’s theoretical frameworks and were incorporated into its research questions, data collection methods, and analysis strategies. Findings illustrate 1) girls’ sustained interest in and positive attitudes toward computer science; 2) girls’ evolving confidence and awareness of computational perspectives; and 3) the importance of group work in nurturing girls’ computational participation. This study contributes to the research on strategies for addressing the gender gap in computing through providing informal learning opportunities for young girls.
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As new efforts seek to expand computer science education across the globe, there has been a widespread effort to prepare school teachers for teaching computer science to culturally and racially diverse students. This effort to center diversity and equity is notable as computer science courses are typically homogenous in terms of race and gender, making the need to center diversity in teacher education spaces. This paper reports on an ethnographic study in the United States that describes how teachers dialogue around issues of race and computer science education in a residential week-long professional development workshop. Drawing from the dialogue of a geographically, racially, and culturally diverse group of teachers, this article describes how teachers evade, deflect, center, and reflect on racially explicit discourse around teaching computer science. Grounded in vignettes from two teacher classrooms, this research study considers how culturally responsive computing and critical race theory can illuminate the ways in which teachers discuss race and culture in computer science professional learning environments. The study’s findings demonstrate features of long-term professional preparation that can surface colorblind ideologies and help teachers move toward a culturally responsive pedagogy to teaching computer science. Abbreviations: CS - computer science ; PD - professional development ; CRT - critical race theory
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