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Despite proliferated efforts to integrate computer science in elementary education, there is a dearth of studies that synthesize the current state of CS education research in formal educational contexts, specifically in upper elementary classrooms. Further, while numerous studies have investigated approaches and strategies that broaden participation in computing, the majority of them focus on secondary and post-secondary settings. The present study uses a systematic literature review process to review research conducted with students in formal classroom settings in grades 4, 5, and 6 and published since 2013. We review the research through two questions: What are barriers to broadening participation in CS in upper elementary (grades 4-6)? What instructional approaches and strategies help broaden participation in CS in upper elementary (grades 4-6)? A systematic search of the literature highlighted approaches used for broadening participation, including using various teaching media, designing scaffolds in instruction, and integrating into other subject areas. We conclude by identifying gaps in the research and identifying areas for further research. 

This experience report describes an approach for helping elementary schools integrate computational thinking and coding by leveraging existing resources and infrastructure that do not rely on 1-1 computing. A particular focus is using the school library and media center as a site to complement and enhance classroom instruction on coding. Further, our approach builds upon "unplugged" knowledge and practices that are already familiar to and motivating for students, in this case tabletop board games. Through these games, students can use their prior knowledge and ease with tabletop gaming mechanics to cue relevant ideas for core computational concepts. We describe a model and an instructional unit spanning across classroom and school library settings that builds upon board game play as a source domain for computing knowledge. Building on expansive framing, the model emphasizes instructional linkages being made between one domain (the tabletop board game) and another (specially designed Scratch project shells with partially complete code blocks) such that the reasoning activities and different contexts are seen as instantiations of the same encompassing context. We present the experiences of three elementary school teachers as they implemented the unit in their classrooms and with their school librarian. We also show initial findings on the impact of the unit on student interest (N=87), as measured by pre- and post- surveys. We conclude with lessons learned about ways to improve the unit and future classroom implementations. 

This paper presents an instructional design using expansive framing to introduce computer programming to upper elementary students. By using a tabletop board game as the context for learning, bridging connections between the learning in the board game and its digital instantiation, and privileging student authorship, we show how two students developed and transferred their understanding of several computational practices, including procedures and conditional logic, from the board game into their design of digital games in Scratch. 

This paper presents an instructional design using expansive framing to introduce computer programming to upper elementary students. By using a tabletop board game as the context for learning, bridging connections between the learning in the board game and its digital instantiation, and privileging student authorship, we show how two students developed and transferred their understanding of several computational practices, including procedures and conditional logic, from the board game into their design of digital games in Scratch.