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1. Secondary science teachers' conceptualizations and modifications to support equitable participation in a co‐designed computational thinking lesson

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21998  

   Levy, Marissa; Peel, Amanda; Zhao, Lexie; LaGrassa, Nicholas; Horn, Michael_S; Wilensky, Uri (November 2024, Journal of Research in Science Teaching)

   Abstract Increasing access to computational ideas and practices is one important reason to integrate computational thinking (CT) in science classrooms. While integrating CT into science classrooms broadens exposure to computing, it may not be enough to ensure equitable participation in the science classroom. Equitable participation is crucial because providing students with an environment in which they are able to fully engage and participate in science and computing practices empowers students to learn and continue pursuing CT and science. To foreground equitable participation in CT‐integrated curricula, we undertook a research project in which researchers and teachers examined teacher conceptualizations of equitable participation and how teachers design for equitable participation by modifying a lesson that introduces computational modeling in science. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What are teachers' conceptualizations of equitable participation? (2) How do teachers design for equitable participation through co‐design of a CT‐integrated unit? Our findings suggest that teachers conceptualized and designed for equitable participation in the context of a CT‐integrated curriculum across three primary dimensions: accessibility, inclusion, and relevancy. Our contributions to the field of science teaching and learning are twofold: (1) obtaining an initial understanding of how teachers think about and design for equitable participation is crucial in order to support teachers in their pursuit of creating equitable learning experiences for CT and science learners, and (2) our findings show that we can study teacher conceptualizations and their design choices by examining specific modifications to a CT‐integrated science curriculum. Implications are discussed. 

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2. Workshops and Co-design Can Help Teachers Integrate Computational Thinking into Their K-12 STEM Classes

   Wu, S.; Peel, A.; Bain, C.; Anton, G.; Horn, M.; Wilensky, U. (April 2020, Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2020)

   Kong, S.C. (Ed.)

   This work aims to help high school STEM teachers integrate computational thinking (CT) into their classrooms by engaging teachers as curriculum co-designers. K-12 teachers who are not trained in computer science may not see the value of CT in STEM classrooms and how to engage their students in computational practices that reflect the practices of STEM professionals. To this end, we developed a 4-week professional development workshop for eight science and mathematics high school teachers to co-design computationally enhanced curriculum with our team of researchers. The workshop first provided an introduction to computational practices and tools for STEM education. Then, teachers engaged in co-design to enhance their science and mathematics curricula with computational practices in STEM. Data from surveys and interviews showed that teachers learned about computational thinking, computational tools, coding, and the value of collaboration after the professional development. Further, they were able to integrate multiple computational tools that engage their students in CT-STEM practices. These findings suggest that teachers can learn to use computational practices and tools through workshops, and that teachers collaborating with researchers in co-design to develop computational enhanced STEM curriculum may be a powerful way to engage students and teachers with CT in K-12 classrooms. 

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3. Preparing Teachers for Computational Thinking Integration in K-12: A Meta-Aggregation

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3439639  

   Caskurlu, Secil; Hu Anne Drew; Yadav, Aman; Santo, Rafi (March 2021, SIGCSE)

   In this poster, we will present approaches and associated design principles for integrating computational thinking (CT) into middle school Social Studies, Arts, and Language Arts instruction to en- hance disciplinary learning. We used four steps to identify these ap- proaches and design principles: (1) co-design with teachers and ex- perts in computer science and CT education to ideate CT-integrated lessons; (2) research team meetings to identify initial design prin- ciples based on the ideated lessons; (3) consultation with subject matter experts; and (4) conducting a Delphi study with pedagogical experts (e.g., teachers, curriculum writers, teacher educators) to examine the clarity, feasibility and potential impact of the design principles. The process led to three broad approaches to integrate CT into Social Studies instruction that included 14 design principles, three for Arts with 16 design principles, and four for Language Arts with 13 design principles. 

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4. Developing Pedagogical Practices That Support Disciplinary Practices When Integrating Computer Science Into Elementary School Curriculum

   Sullivan, Florence; Enrique Suárez; Emrah Pektas; and Lian Duan. (June 2020, Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Learning Sciences)

   There is a growing movement seeking to promote Computer Science (CS) and Computational Thinking (CT) across K-8 education. While advantageous for supporting student learning through engaging in complex and interdisciplinary learning, integrating CS/CT into the elementary school curriculum can pose curricular and pedagogical challenges. For one, teachers themselves must understand the concepts and disciplinary practices associated with CS/CT and the other content areas being integrated, as well as develop a related pedagogical repertoire. This study addresses how two 3rd grade teachers made sense of the intersection of disciplinary practices and pedagogical practices to support student learning. We present preliminary findings from a Research-Practice Partnership that worked with elementary teachers to integrate aspects of CS/CT practice into existing content areas. We identified two main disciplinary activities that drove their curriculum design and pedagogical practices: (1) the importance of productive frustration and failure; and (2) the importance of precision 

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5. Seeds of (r)Evolution: Constructionism Co-Design with High School Science Teachers

   Kelter, J.; Peel, A.; Bain, C.; Anton, G.; Dabholkar, S.; Aslan, U.; Horn, M.S.; Wilensky, U. (June 2020, Constructionism 2020)

   In the decades since Papert published Mindstorms (1980), computation has transformed nearly every branch of scientific practice. Accordingly, there is increasing recognition that computation and computational thinking (CT) must be a core part of STEM education in a broad range of subjects. Previous work has demonstrated the efficacy of incorporating computation into STEM courses and introduced a taxonomy of CT practices in STEM. However, this work rarely involved teachers as more than implementers of units designed by researchers. In The Children’s Machine, Papert asked “What can be done to mobilize the potential force for change inherent in the position of teachers?” (Papert, 1994, pg. 79). We argue that involving teachers as co-design partners supports them to be cultural change agents in education. We report here on the first phase of a research project in which we worked with STEM educators to co-design curricular science units that incorporate computational thinking and practices. Eight high school teachers and one university professor joined nine members of our research team for a month-long Computational Thinking Summer Institute (CTSI). The co-design process was a constructionist design and learning experience for both the teachers and researchers. We focus here on understanding the co-design process and its implications for teachers by asking: (1) How did teachers shift in their attitudes and confidence regarding CT? (2) What different co-design styles emerged and did any tensions arise? Generally, we found that teachers gained confidence and skills in CT and computational tools over the course of the summer. Only one teacher reported a decrease in confidence in one aspect of CT (computational modeling), but this seemed to result from gaining a broader and more nuanced understanding of this rich area. A range of co-design styles emerged over the summer. Some teachers chose to focus on designing the curriculum and advising on the computational tools to be used in it, while leaving the construction of those tools to their co-designers. Other teachers actively participated in constructing models and computational tools themselves. The pluralism of co-design styles allowed teachers of various comfort levels with computation to meaningfully contribute to a computationally enhanced constructionist curriculum. However, it also led to a tension for some teachers between working to finish their curriculum versus gaining experience with computational tools. In the time crunch to complete their unit during CTSI, some teachers chose to save time by working on the curriculum while their co-design partners (researchers) created the supporting computational tools. These teachers still grew in their computational sophistication, but they could not devote as much time as they wanted to their own computational learning. 

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