skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Teaching Computing in Indigenous Schools: An Early Experience Report
To broaden indigenous students' participation in Computer Science (CS) education, we conducted a research practitioner partnership (RPP) project, where teachers were taught the CS principles lessons offered by Code.org and asked to integrate mobile application development within their current courses. Additionally, modules and guidance were provided on culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), and an in-classroom implementation of a five-day lesson plan was co-created via a participatory approach. In this experience report, we describe the RPP organization and early findings from our collected teachers' pre/post survey, lesson plans, projects, and students' pre/post survey. The positive outcomes from our RPP project provided valuable teacher learning experiences and actionable, culturally responsive computing lesson plans for the indigenous community.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1828010 2216452 2031505
PAR ID:
10514491
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
ACM
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the 2024 on RESPECT Annual Conference
ISBN:
9798400706264
Page Range / eLocation ID:
201 to 205
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
Atlanta GA USA
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; (, SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2)
    Doyle, Maureen; Stephenson, Ben. (Ed.)
    This study took place in the context of a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP) between a research organization, the Wyoming Department of Education, and three school districts serving primarily Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho students on the Wind River Reservation. The goal of the RPP is to integrate instruction on the Indian Education for All Wyoming social studies standards with the Wyoming computer science standards in elementary school in ways that are culturally responsive [1]. The project team provided 12 hours of professional development across three sessions, three professional learning community sessions, lesson plans, and model projects. Teachers were expected to implement three coding projects across the school year. The study team collected data via teacher interviews, surveys, and observations of professional development and professional learning community sessions [2]. Three problems of practice that emerged from our preliminary qualitative analysis [3] include: (a) how to support student interest and engagement in computer science especially upon first introduction of a coding platform, (b) how to find time in the school day for computer science and to develop methods for integrating computer science with other subjects, and (c) how to build collaboration across classrooms and districts. The poster will discuss the adaptations teachers made to address the first two problems of practice and the RPP's strategy for addressing the third problem of practice in our next year of implementation. These findings will be of interest to researchers and practitioners working to implement culturally responsive computer science instruction in elementary schools in Indigenous communities. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education)
    Indigenous communities remain among the most underrepresented groups in computing and STEM fields, facing systemic barriers to equitable participation in computer science (CS) education. This study examines how Indigenous-serving teachers, through a sustained professional development (PD) program, design and implement culturally responsive computing (CRC) curricula in Indigenous-serving schools. Guided by the research question: How does sustained CS professional development inform the design of culturally responsive computing curricula by experienced CS teachers in Indigenous-serving schools? We employed a natural language processing (NLP) data fusion approach that integrates text mining and qualitative thematic analysis to investigate how teachers incorporate Indigenous knowledge into computing instruction. Our findings reveal three emergent themes in teacher learning and lesson design: Creating opportunities to access culture through computation, Leveraging Research and Critical Thinking Skills to Critically Engage Students with Computing, and Reflection, refinement, and professional growth through ongoing collaboration. These themes underscore the impact of CRC on bridging cultural traditions with computing, fostering engagement, and enhancing Indigenous students’ sense of belonging in CS. By supporting teachers in developing culturally relevant lessons that integrate storytelling, traditional arts, and computational thinking, this research contributes to the broader discourse on inclusive CS education. This study informs future efforts to expand Indigenous student participation in computing by highlighting the role of culturally sustaining pedagogy in professional development and curriculum design. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; (, ACM)
    Porter, Leo; Brown, Neil; Morrison, Briana; Montero, Calkin (Ed.)
    Indigenous communities remain significantly underrepresented in computer science (CS) and STEM fields, facing persistent barriers such as limited access to resources, infrastructure, and culturally relevant instruction. This study investigated how educators serving Indigenous populations designed and implemented culturally responsive computing (CRC)[2] curricula within a long-term professional development program grounded in a design-based research framework. The study examined how sustained, collaborative support enabled educators to effectively integrate Indigenous cultural knowledge, values, and practices into computer science education. Seven secondary teachers who work in schools in Arizona and New Mexico with over 90% Native American enrollment participated in a two-year professional development program called Let’s Talk Code Teaching Fellow. The program consisted of twelve online modules,weekly virtual meetings, in-personworkshops, and conference participation[3]. Following the DBR framework [1], teachers engaged in iterative cycles of lesson design, implementation, and revision, creating and teaching three culturally relevant computer science lessons. They received feedback from fellow teachers and research teams, allowing them to improve the connection between computing and cultural relevance in their lessons. The study employed a mixed-methods approach to data collection and analysis. Qualitative data included 14 finalized lesson plans, teacher reflections, teacher interviews, and classroom observation notes, which were thematically analyzed to identify common instructional practices and challenges, as well as strategies that connect culture and computing. Our findings showed that teachers sustained local culture by integrating Indigenous languages and art and innovative computing tools such as Scratch, micro: bit, and Sphero robots into their computing lessons. Teachers reported an increase in their confidence in computer science instruction following the long-term PD and benefited from a strong professional learning community. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; (, Journal of technology and teacher education)
    The field of computer science continues to lack diverse representation from women and racially minoritized individuals. One way to address the discrepancies in representation is through systematic changes in computer science education from a young age. Pedagogical and instructional changes are needed to promote meaningful and equitable learning that engages students with rigorous and inclusive curricula. We developed an equity-focused professional development program for teachers that promotes culturally responsive pedagogy in the context of computer science education. This study provides an overview of our culturally responsive framework and a qualitative examination of how teachers (n=9) conceptualized and applied culturally responsive pedagogy in their classrooms. Drawing from grounded theory and lesson assessment rubrics, we developed a codebook to analyze teacher interviews, lesson plans, and questionnaire responses. Findings revealed that, following their participation in professional development, teachers were consistently planning to implement a wide range of culturally responsive instructional and pedagogical practices capable of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in computer science education. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, Journal of technology and teacher education)
    The field of computer science continues to lack diverse representation from women and racially minoritized individuals. One way to address the discrepancies in representation is through systematic changes in computer science education from a young age. Pedagogical and instructional changes are needed to promote meaningful and equitable learning that engages students with rigorous and inclusive curricula. We developed an equity-focused professional development program for teachers that promotes culturally responsive pedagogy in the context of computer science education. This study provides an overview of our culturally responsive framework and a qualitative examination of how teachers (n=9) conceptualized and applied culturally responsive pedagogy in their classrooms. Drawing from grounded theory and lesson assessment rubrics, we developed a codebook to analyze teacher interviews, lesson plans, and questionnaire responses. Findings revealed that, following their participation in professional development, teachers were consistently planning to implement a wide range of culturally responsive instructional and pedagogical practices capable of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in computer science education. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email