This paper explores how MoDa, an integrated computational modeling and data environment, enabled students to express their ideas about diffusion and shift them toward canonical ideas. Drawing on data from an 8-day unit with two 6th-grade science classes, we analyze students' utterances in presentations, drawings, and written responses to document their diverse ideas about diffusion We present three case studies to illustrate how engaging with computational modeling in MoDa and the unit around it enabled students to shift from non-canonical ideas towards more canonical explanations of diffusion. In particular, we identify three factors that helped in shifting students’ ideas: the availability of code blocks to represent a diverse range of ideas including non-canonical ones, consistent access to video data of the phenomenon, and model presentations to the whole class. The paper illustrates how a computational modeling tool and curriculum can make students' diverse ideas visible and shift them toward canonical explanations.
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Teachers’ Disciplinary Boundedness in the Implementation of Integrated Computational Modeling in Physics
Abstract This study explored teachers’ conceptualizations of integrated computational modeling in secondary physics by exposing twelve experienced physics teachers to programming and then analyzing interview responses. Responses revealed that teachers fell along a spectrum of disciplinary boundary–stretching mentalities. This paper presents a preliminary conceptual framework for exploring both horizontal (interdisciplinary) and vertical (intradisciplinary) boundary stretching, as well as for identifying bounded mentalities as teachers consider integration. Horizontal boundary stretchers envisioned opportunities to use computational modeling to shift their curriculum or pedagogical approaches in physics to help students enhance skills underlying multiple fields, while vertical boundary stretchers considered how computing might allow students to explore physics concepts more deeply. Teachers with more boundary-stretching indicators at the outset of an integrated curriculum development workshop were more likely to persist in the implementation of computational modeling–integrated materials in their physics classrooms than those who expressed more bounded thinking. These findings emphasize the importance of considering teachers’ perceptions about how their own science discipline is connected to similar fields and provide implications about how to identify potential adopters of innovative teaching approaches.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1640791
- PAR ID:
- 10356289
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Science Education and Technology
- Volume:
- 31
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1059-0145
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 153 to 165
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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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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As schools and districts across the United States adopt computer science standards and curriculum for K-12 computer science education, they look to integrate the foundational concepts of computational thinking (CT) into existing core subjects of elementary-age students. Research has shown the effectiveness of teaching CT elements (abstraction, generalization, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, debugging) using non-programming, unplugged approaches. These approaches address common barriers teachers face with lack of knowledge, familiarity, or technology tools. Picture books and graphic novels present an unexplored non-programming, unplugged resource for teachers to integrate computational thinking into their CT or CT-integrated lessons. This analysis examines 27 picture books and graphic novels published between 2015 and 2020 targeted to K-6 students for representation of computational thinking elements. Using the computational thinking curriculum framework for K-6, we identify the grade-level competencies of the CT elements featured in the books compared to the books’ target age groups. We compare grade-level competencies to interest level to identify each CT element representation as “foundational,” “on-target,” or “advanced.” We conclude that literature offers teachers a non-programming unplugged resource to expose students to CT and enhance CT and CT-integrated lessons, while also personalizing learning based on CT readiness and interest level.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09938-9
