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According to an ecological affordances perspective, any static curriculum has a set of affordances, and differences in teachers, students, and the teaching environment change how those affordances are viewed and used. Therefore, teaching is a relationship between the curriculum, the teacher, and the students. As such, it is not only possible but expected that a teacher will diverge from the details of a lesson plan to better accommodate the needs of themselves as a teacher and their students as learners. In this study, we report on a mixed-methods investigation that explores the different ways upper-elementary and middle-school (7- 13 y.o. students) teachers implement the Scratch-based TIPP&SEE learning strategy and the reasoning for their approaches. As expected, we find that teachers across grade levels often deviate from lesson plan details to cater to their own classrooms. For example, teachers serving younger grades were far more likely to keep scaffolds that lesson plans suggest removing. The varied degree of deviation suggests that the repeated use of a learning strategy, alongside lesson plans that present a variety of scaffolded implementations, is beneficial in enabling teachers to adapt lesson content to serve the needs of their specific classroom. 

Background and Context: The study was conducted in a special education classroom in an elementary school with multilingual Latine students, utilizing a computer science curriculum focused on community-based environmental literacy. Objective: This study explores the experiences of diverse elementary students with disabilities in learning computer programming and identifies instructional strategies that enhance their learning within a culturally sustaining curriculum. Method: An exploratory case study approach was used to examine students’ learning experiences and teachers’ instructional strategies during curriculum implementation. Findings: Students who typically did not engage with peers collaborated effectively, and those with behavioral and performance difficulties exhibited heightened engagement. Instructional strategies included multisensory engagement and connecting environmental and computational concepts to real-life situations. Implications: The result underscore how a culturally sustaining computer science curriculum can empower diverse students, foster inclusivity, and leverage their strengths through effective teaching practices. 

Abstract The release and rapid diffusion of ChatGPT have caught the attention of educators worldwide. Some educators are enthusiastic about its potential to support learning. Others are concerned about how it might circumvent learning opportunities or contribute to misinformation. To better understand reactions about ChatGPT concerning education, we analyzed Twitter data (16,830,997 tweets from 5,541,457 users). Based on topic modeling and sentiment analysis, we provide an overview of global perceptions and reactions to ChatGPT regarding education. ChatGPT triggered a massive response on Twitter, with education being the most tweeted content topic. Topics ranged from specific (e.g., cheating) to broad (e.g., opportunities), which were discussed with mixed sentiment. We traced that authority decisions may influence public opinions. We discussed that the average reaction on Twitter (e.g., using ChatGPT to cheat in exams) differs from discussions in which education and teaching–learning researchers are likely to be more interested (e.g., ChatGPT as an intelligent learning partner). This study provides insights into people's reactions when new groundbreaking technology is released and implications for scientific and policy communication in rapidly changing circumstances. 

Abstract The release and rapid diffusion of ChatGPT has forced teachers and researchers around the world to grapple with the consequences of artificial intelligence (AI) for education. For second language educators, AI-generated writing tools such as ChatGPT present special challenges that must be addressed to better support learners. We propose a five-part pedagogical framework that seeks to support second language learners through acknowledging both the immediate and long-term contexts in which we must teach students about these tools: understand, access, prompt, corroborate, and incorporate. By teaching our students how to effectively partner with AI, we can better prepare them for the changing landscape of technology use in the world beyond the classroom.