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1. Playful coding and playful learning among future early childhood educators

   Kim, C.; Belland, B. R.; Gleasman, C. (January 2020, Proceedings of the 2020 Meeting of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences)

   This research examined how undergraduates majoring in Early Childhood Education (a) engaged with robot coding and (b) designed to engage preschoolers in learning with robots. A symbolic interactionism perspective was applied to examine how and why these future early childhood education teachers learned to code and planned lessons integrating robots into preschoolers’ play. The central research question was: How and why do pre-service early childhood teachers use robotics in preschoolers’ play? 

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2. Reaction to Bugs During Robot Programming

   Kim, C.; Belland, B. R.; Vasconcelos, L.; Hill, R. B. (April 2020, Annual meeting program American Educational Research Association)

   It is often said that computer science is for all students. This implies that it is also for early childhood students, including preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary schoolers. To integrate computer science education into early childhood education, it is necessary to prepare early childhood teachers to do so. In this study, we investigated how and why 15 preservice, early childhood teachers reacted to and addressed challenges when creating block-based programming to control robots. Data sources included classroom recordings, interviews, lesson artifacts, and questionnaires. Analysis strategies included open and axial coding. Findings on hypothesis generation, guess-and-check practice, stereotypical conception, and adaptive attribution to success in programming are discussed. 

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3. An unplugged remix of culturally responsive computing for early childhood education

   https://doi.org/10.1002/fer3.41  

   Harper, Frances_K; Larsen, James_A; Quinn, Margaret; Caudle, Lori; Parker, Bethany; Sadovnik, Amir; The_CRRAFT_Partnership (June 2024, Future in Educational Research)

   Abstract Despite a growing movement towards expanding computer science education in PreK‐12, gaps in computing opportunities along lines of race, ethnicity, class, and gender have widened. Emergent theories and practices related to culturally responsive computing show promise in addressing this gap; however, little is known about engaging Black, Latinx, and Indigenous preschoolers in computer science. In this paper, we utilized qualitative content analyses to explore how an early childhood computer science curriculum created opportunities for young Black and Latinx preschoolers to develop computational thinking skills while engaging in culturally responsive computing. Overwhelmingly, we found the curriculum, co‐developed with educators and caregivers, emphasized unplugged tools and coding activities to support computational thinking. These unplugged opportunities positioned children as innovators with technology and technosocial change agents, in developmentally‐appropriate, play‐based ways. Findings demonstrate a need to emphasize the value of unplugged tools and coding activities in order to support computational thinking and align the goals of culturally responsive computing with the unique needs of young children. We discuss implications for a theory of culturally responsive computing specifically for early childhood education. 

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4. Predicting the quality of preservice early childhood teachers’ lesson plans using cognitive and motivational challenges

   Belland, B. R.; Zhang, A. Y.; Lee, E.; Baabdullah, A.; Dinc, E.; Kim, C. (April 2023, 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association)

   To use robots within early childhood education requires the preparation of early childhood teachers to use and teach block-based programming. We used a hierarchical linear model approach to address our research question: How can study cohort, cognitive challenge types, and motivational challenge types be used to predict lesson plan quality? Positive motivational challenge predictors were task value of programming, task value of teaching, mastery goals of programming, belonging in teaching, and autonomy in robotics. Negative motivational challenge predictors were mastery goals of teaching, belonging in robotics, self-efficacy in teaching, autonomy in programming, and autonomy in teaching. Positive cognitive challenge predictors were technical issues, problem solving - higher-order skills, and lesson design - other issues. 

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5. Centering teacher and parent voice to realize culturally relevant computational thinking in early childhood

   Frances K. Harper, Lori A. (January 2023, Early childhood research quarterly)

   The specific mechanisms by which teachers and parents can provide culturally relevant opportunities for computational thinking for racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of preschoolers remain unknown. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to examine how PreK parent and teacher voice directed efforts to realize a culturally relevant computing program. We drew data sources from a subsample of design-based research meetings in which partners collaborated to co-develop the first iteration of the program. Using qualitative analysis, we examined how parent voice and teacher voice, conceptualized as perspectives and participation, influenced theories of culturally responsive computing and computational thinking in early childhood education and the translation of theory into practice in classroom and home settings. Findings showed that connecting powerful ideas from computational thinking, namely algorithms and problem solving (e.g., debugging), to familiar activities and experiences served as a powerful entry point. Yet, differences arose in how teachers and parents conceptualized culturally relevant computing and made connections to familiar routines. We discuss what can be learned from parent voice in regards to bolstering children's self-expression, access to increasingly complex computational thinking tasks, and opportunities for learning cultural and community values through computing. 

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