An official website of the United States government
The specific mechanisms by which teachers and parents can provide culturally relevant opportunities for computational thinking for racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of preschoolers remain unknown. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to examine how PreK parent and teacher voice directed efforts to realize a culturally relevant computing program. We drew data sources from a subsample of design-based research meetings in which partners collaborated to co-develop the first iteration of the program. Using qualitative analysis, we examined how parent voice and teacher voice, conceptualized as perspectives and participation, influenced theories of culturally responsive computing and computational thinking in early childhood education and the translation of theory into practice in classroom and home settings. Findings showed that connecting powerful ideas from computational thinking, namely algorithms and problem solving (e.g., debugging), to familiar activities and experiences served as a powerful entry point. Yet, differences arose in how teachers and parents conceptualized culturally relevant computing and made connections to familiar routines. We discuss what can be learned from parent voice in regards to bolstering children's self-expression, access to increasingly complex computational thinking tasks, and opportunities for learning cultural and community values through computing.
more »
« less
Partnerships as Professional Learning: Early Childhood Teaching Assistants’ Role Development and Navigation of Challenges Within a Culturally Responsive Robotics Program
Theory and practice related to computing education with racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of preschoolers remain in nascent stages. Accordingly, early childhood educators both require substantial support when integrating culturally responsive computing into curriculum and instruction and offer valuable perspectives on emerging practices. The purpose of this research study is to explore how educator voice-directed efforts support the implementation of a culturally relevant preschool robotics program through multi-year professional development. Through qualitative analyses, we examined how educator voice, conceptualized as perspectives and participation, guided the direction of professional learning situated within a larger research-practice partnership using design-based research (DBR) methodology. By comparing voice across these sessions, we were able to identify what roles educators assumed within the partnership and how those roles shifted over time. Further, we are able to identify the structural and systemic factors that may have affected their participation and implementation. Findings show a contrast in roles across the different stages of the partnership, suggesting implications for embedding professional learning within broader partnership work as a way to cultivate educator leadership and to realize culturally responsive computing education in sustainable ways.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2031394
- PAR ID:
- 10586490
- Publisher / Repository:
- MDPI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Education Sciences
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2227-7102
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 514
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
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
-
As computer science (CS) education becomes more prevalent in K-12 instruction, it is critical for educators, researchers, and curriculum developers to identify culturally responsive and pedagogically inclusive approaches that can increase participation, access, and feelings of belonging for students from historically marginalized communities. In response, we developed an equity-centered curricular framework and illustrative crosswalk that synchronizes three distinct pedagogical approaches: culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and project-based learning (PBL). We describe the framework’s theoretical underpinnings and explain how this framework informed the development of an integrated elementary science+CS curricular unit and provide examples of its implementation. Next, we describe the relationship between our framework, the integrated curricular unit, and educative materials designed to help teachers use the lessons and transform their practice. Finally, we highlight the framework’s potential for broader implementation in the quest to promote equitable CS instruction grounded in the experiences and perspectives of diverse student populations. The crosswalk is a graphical representation of the framework that communicates relationships amongst the elements in a digestible and practical way. This Equity-Centered Curricular Crosswalk addresses both lesson features and teacher practices, to underscore our belief that the responsibility of equity-based pedagogy should not be solely borne by teachers. As educators, researchers, and curriculum developers consider their interconnected roles and responsibilities in the enactment of CRP and UDL, the crosswalk provides an important link between equity-based instructional theories and the realities of classroom practices.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Through school-university partnerships that situate learning within culturally relevant educational experiences, faculty, preservice teachers, and school-based educators are able to co-construct and share scientific knowledge. This knowledge consists of pedagogical content knowledge and funds of knowledge that include both knowledge and skills developed in cultural context that have evolved historically. In early childhood education, culturally relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) learning experiences are particularly important for young children's cognitive and social emotional development. This paper describes how intentional co-planning and collaboration to celebrate the US Read across America Day provided over 100 preschool children in eight classrooms with access to STEAM lessons virtually led by university preservice teachers in partnership with educators in the school. These activities engaged children in exploring art, computer science, physical science, engineering, and mathematics within the context of a culturally relevant version of the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Lessons implemented as part of school-university partnerships support Black and Latinx children's development of a sense of belonging in STEAM. Further, these experiences enhance teacher candidates' abilities to engage in culturally responsive STEAM teaching while receiving ongoing guidance and education from university faculty and school-based educators. Teacher education programs within higher education institutions should embrace school- university partnerships as contexts for the development of shared scientific knowledge and discourse since the benefits are twofold. First, children and teachers gain access to, and engage with, innovative STEAM experiences. Second, preservice teachers learn culturally relevant research-based instructional strategies through university coursework situated in authentic learning experiences; thus, their learning as teacher candidates is enhanced through planning, implementation, evaluation, and critical reflection.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Culturally responsive computing (CRC) frames the localized knowledges and practices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities as assets for working toward racial justice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). A key part of CRC is the role that local communities play in designing and/or implementing curricula and technologies. Yet, there is a dearth of research on collaborating with local knowledge experts and what they think about CRC. In response, this paper details a two-year-long research project on the design and implementation of one CRC program called pH Empowered. pH Empowered uses computing to bridge Black hairstyling, chemistry, and entrepreneurship. Through a mixed-methods study of one pH Empowered professional development workshop, we show how cosmetologists, urban farmers, and librarians had diverse perspectives about how to be culturally responsive with STEM and the racial justice goal of broadening participation in STEM education.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15040514
