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1. What do CS teachers think about Culturally-Relevant Computing?

   Hoffman, D. L.; Leong, P.; Ka'aloa, R. P.; Paek, S. (June 2022, Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning)

   Bastiaens, T. (Ed.)

   This presentation reports a mixed-methods study examining how in- service Computer Science (CS) teachers working in Hawai'i perceive the concept of culturally-relevant computing. Data for the study came from a survey sent to CS teachers (n = 19) and focus group interviews with a subset of respondents (n = 10). Analysis of the data revealed a snapshot of teachers’ beliefs about culturally-relevant computing, as well as their current practices related to culturally-relevant pedagogy in the domain of CS. Detailed findings will be presented along with a discussion of the considerations and challenges in-service teachers face when planning and implementing culturally-relevant CS lessons. 

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2. Co-Designing Learning Experiences to Support the Development of Culturally Relevant CS Lessons in Elementary Classrooms

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3478432.3499108  

   Chiu, Jennie L. (March 2022, SIGCSE '22: 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   This poster reports on a workshop to help elementary school teachers integrate culturally relevant computer science (CS) learning opportunities into their classrooms. Findings highlight the importance of facilitators to help teachers discuss cultural competence and the value of co-developed rubrics to evaluate lessons. The presentation will discuss results and share artifacts from the workshop. 

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3. Examining instructional planning and implementation in the context of an integrated computer science professional development for elementary teachers [Poster presentation]

   Nolte, A.; Mead, H.; Mouza, C.; Rolón-Dow, R.; Pollock, L. (January 2023, American Educational Research Association,)

   Elementary schools provide a natural entry point to computer science (CS) education, yet elementary teachers spend most of their instructional time in literacy and math. One way to bring CS in elementary schools is through integrated approaches. In this work we present a professional development (PD) program that helps elementary teachers integrate CS with content and culturally relevant pedagogy to create accessible CS instruction. Qualitative data were collected from five teachers who attended the year-long program. Findings indicate that all teachers fully integrated CS with content and culturally-relevant pedagogy; however, such integration focused mostly on literacy and closely paralleled what was presented in PD. Implications are drawn regarding the design of PD programs that help teachers integrate CS in elementary classrooms. 

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4. Developing teachers’ cultural competencies through co-design of robot-coding mathematics activities for Latinx and Black elementary school students

   https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.22.1.11  

   Lyublinskaya, Irina; Okita, Sandra; Walker, Erica; Yan, Xiaoheng Kitty (February 2024, London Review of Education)

   This year-long case study involved the professional development of teachers in New York City elementary schools, who co-designed with researchers culturally relevant robot-coding mathematics activities to advance teachers’ understanding of culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy. Study findings indicated that co-designing culturally relevant robot-coding mathematics activities led to the development of teachers’ cultural competencies, deeper understanding of culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy and their students’ cultures, stronger agency, and ability to integrate culturally responsive pedagogy into their mathematics curriculum. Teachers also began to perceive the robot as a mathematical tool rather than a motivational add-on, and started to develop their own cultural lens while focusing less on school structure constraints. The study emphasises the importance of engaging teachers as active co-designers of culturally relevant coding curriculum in professional development programmes. 

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5. Using Engineering Design Tasks to Create Indigenous Cultural and Community Connections with the Classroom for Elementary and Middle School Students

   Bowman, F.; Klemetsrud, B.; Ozturk, E.; Robinson, J. (August 2022, 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   Oftentimes engineering design tasks are thought of as acultural and devoid of community inclusion and values. However, engineering design is inherently a cultural endeavor. Problems needing engineering solutions or design thinking are situated in a specific community and need community solutions. This work in progress paper describes initial efforts from a project to help elementary and middle school teachers create culturally relevant engineering design tasks for implementation in their classrooms. To integrate best practices for culturally relevant pedagogy, the engineering design framework developed by UTeach Engineering was adapted to specifically address community needs and cultural values. Changes to the framework also include culturally relevant instructional strategies for classroom implementation. To situate the engineering design steps within a culturally relevant framework questions involving communities and students’ cultural needs, values, and expectations were posed in each stage of the design process. A water filtration engineering design task was situated in the cultural concept of “Mni Wiconi” (Water is life in the Dakota language). This was taught in a summer professional development workshop for a cohort of elementary and middle school teachers, in rural North Dakota, with school districts comprised of large Native American student populations. Teachers adapted this design task for their individual classrooms and content areas (science, math, social studies, ELA) and implemented it in their classrooms in the fall of 2021. Additional support for teachers was provided with fall workshop days aimed at helping them with the facilitation of a culturally relevant engineering task. To integrate culturally relevant teaching and good engineering design tasks, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction’s Native American Essential Understandings Teachings of our Elder’s website was used. This allowed teachers and students to have firsthand knowledge of how various science and engineering concepts are framed within the indigenous community. Professional development focused on how to situate culturally responsive teaching in engineering design. For example, in one of the school districts the water filtration task was related to increased pollution of a nearby lake which holds significant importance for the local Tribal Nation. In addition to being able to visibly witness the demand for cleaner water, the book “We are Water Protectors” written by Carole Lindstrom, was used to provide cultural grounding for the Identify and Describe stages of the engineering design framework. Case studies of how teachers incorporated the water filtration design task into their lesson plans are presented along with their suggestions on how to improve classroom implementation. Future work in the program includes teachers and their students developing engineering design tasks situated in their own communities and cultures. 

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