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1. When is an Owl More than an Owl? An Interaction Analysis of a Computer Science Co-Design Conversation on Cultural Relevance

   https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2023.632684  

   Robillard, Stephanie M; Lee, Victor R; Clarke-Midura, Jody; Shumway, Jessica (October 2023, International Society of the Learning Sciences)

   The learning sciences community is currently exploring new ways to enact productive and equitable co-design research-practice partnerships that are sensitive to all the concerns and needs of stakeholders. The paper contributes to that still-growing literature through an interaction analysis of a co-design discussion involving school district partners that unfolded about cultural relevance and sensitivity in relation to the use of a specific image in an elementary school coding lesson. The episode involved looking moment-by-moment at how district educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a minoritized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design. 

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2. When is an Owl More than an Owl? An Interaction Analysis of a Computer Science Co-design Conversation on Cultural Relevance

   Robillard, S. M.; Lee, V. R.; Clarke-Midura, J.; & Shumway, J (June 2023, The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS),)

   The learning sciences community is currently exploring new ways to enact productive and equitable co-design research-practice partnerships that are sensitive to all the concerns and needs of stakeholders. The paper contributes to that still-growing literature through an interaction analysis of a co-design discussion involving school district partners that unfolded about cultural relevance and sensitivity in relation to the use of a specific image in an elementary school coding lesson. The episode involved looking moment-by-moment at how district educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a minoritized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design. 

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3. An interaction analysis of a computer science co-design conversation on cultural relevance and its implications for design

   https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2402354  

   Robillard, Stephanie M; Lee, Victor R; Clarke-Midura, Jody; Shumway, Jessica (October 2024, Journal of Research on Technology in Education)

   This paper uses interaction analysis to examine an episode moment-by-moment of how a group of educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a historically marginalized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design. It also serves as a reminder that educational technologies are not “race” neutral. 

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4. Developing an Engineering Design Course for Rural Middle School Students: Implementation Strategies and Lessons Learned

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--36936  

   Baldwin, Tameshia (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   In early 2020, a research collaboration between a college of engineering, a research institute, a pre-college STEM program, a rural school district, and the local advanced manufacturing industry began. The goal of this Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) project was to create community-based engineering design experiences for underserved middle school students (grades 6-8) from rural NC aimed to improve their cognitive (STEM content knowledge and career awareness) and non-cognitive (interest, self-efficacy, and STEM identity) outcomes, and ultimately lead to their increased participation in STEM fields, particularly engineering. The project leverages strategic partnerships to create a 3-part, grade-level specific Engineering Design and Exploration course that engages middle school students in authentic engineering design experiences that allow them to research, design, and problem-solve in a simulated advanced manufacturing environment. Shortly after receiving university approval to begin the research process, progress was halted due to an unprecedented global health crisis. The school district was closed for several weeks as administrators and teachers prepared to transition to remote learning. In addition, the district experienced unexpected teacher and administrator turnover. In the wake of such uncertainty, the partners have pivoted their research design to work more closely with industry partners while still maintaining an active relationship with the school district as they rebuild. This paper will describe the challenges faced, strategies employed, and lessons learned during the course development and implementation process. 

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5. Exploring Middle School Science Teachers’ Curriculum Sensemaking

   https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2025.2497188  

   Wright, Gary; Zangori, Laura; Otto, Suzanne; Snyder, Rebekah; Cole, Laura (May 2025, Journal of Science Teacher Education)

   Borowczak, A; Dare, E; Tofel-Grehl, C (Ed.)

   A teacher’s working context is an important factor in how they make sense of and enact curriculum. Understanding how external factors (e.g. state and/or district policies, school cultural norms) interplay with teachers’ personal resources (e.g. self-understanding, rules of thumb for decision-making) can help identify supports for implementation of increasingly available standard aligned curriculum materials. However, in science education, limited research has explored how curriculum enactments are influenced by this complex interplay. In this qualitative embedded case study, we investigated how four middle school science teachers within the same school district used their internal resources to make sense of external factors when enacting new NGSS-aligned place-based curriculum materials. Data collection occurred over multiple years and included semi-structured individual and focus group interviews, lesson plans, weekly surveys, observations, and memos. Using thematic analysis, we found that a new district-level policy implementing a 6-week science assessment caused differential enactments of the unit, depending on which internal resources teachers drew on to make sense of the curriculum materials. Our findings contribute to further understanding how internal personal resources and external factors support and impede science teachers’ use of curriculum materials in ways that align, or do not align, with recent reform-based learning outlined in the NGSS. 

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