Search for: All records

Expansive Framing (EF) is a theory and an instructional technique to facilitate connections between content and contexts. We employed EF as an approach to create a series of integrated mathematics and computer science (CS) lessons, using digital technology as a tool to leverage shared mathematical and computational ideas. We used deductive theoretical qualitative analysis of transcripts of classroom implementations to investigate how two fifth-grade teachers and one computer lab paraprofessional educator used EF during their teaching and what the EF approach looked like in practice. Findings suggested that educators engaged in EF principles when they were present in curricular materials, yet they also made additional impromptu (albeit school-based) expansive connections. The teachers in the study also regularly framed students as authors and owners of new knowledge. We recommend that mathematics-CS integrated curricular materials include language and other supports that make unambiguous, specific connections across learning contexts. We posit that EF theory can be a support to educators in the integration of mathematics and coding instruction with digital technology. 

Paper presentation at the Utah Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference 

This paper presents a model, the double integration model, for integrating Computer Science (CS) and mathematics in upper elementary instruction. Fifth-grade students (n=1,037) participated either in the double integrated model (Condition 1; integrated in both CS and Math instruction) or integrated lessons only in CS instruction (Condition 2). After each lesson, students rated their enjoyment, perceived ease, and perceptions of CS-math connections. Multilevel analyses revealed that Condition 1 students reported significantly more positive perceptions and stronger CS-math connections of the lessons than Condition 2 students. Girls in Condition 1 responded more positively than boys on enjoyment and connection items, and outperformed Condition 2 girls across all measures. These findings underscore the double integration model's effectiveness. 

As an integral part of qualitative research inquiry, field notes provide important data from researchers embedded in research sites. However, field notes can vary significantly, influenced by the researchers' immersion in the field, prior knowledge, beliefs, interests, and perspectives. As consequence, their interpretation presents significant challenges. This study offers a preliminary investigation into the potential of using large language models to assist researchers with the analysis and interpretation of field notes data. Our methodology consisted of two phases. First, a researcher deductively coded field notes of six classroom implementations of a novel elementary-level mathematics curriculum. In the second phase, we prompted ChatGPT-4 to code the same field notes, using the codebook, definitions, examples, and deductive coding approach employed by the researcher. We also prompted Chatgpt to provide justifications of its coding decisions We then, calculated agreements and disagreements between ChatGPT and the researcher, organized the data in a contingency table, computed Cohen's Kappa, structured the data into a confusion matrix; and using the researcher’s coding as the “gold standard”, we calculated performance measures, specifically: Accuracy, Precision, Recall, and F1 Score. Our findings revealed that while the researcher and ChatGPT appeared to generally agree on the frequency in applying the different codes, overall agreement, as measured by Cohen’s Kappa was low. In contrast, using measures from information science at the code level revealed more nuanced results. Moreover, coupled with ChatGPT justifications of coding decisions, these findings provided insights than can help support the iterative improvement of codebooks. 

This study investigates the use of exit tickets as formative assessments in maths-integrated computer science (CS) lessons for grade 5 students. Exit tickets are brief surveys administered immediately after instructional activities. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we analysed data from 1,067 students to examine the reliability and validity of exit tickets in predicting summative pre/post survey results. The study found that the exit ticket responses consistently assessed student affect at two administration points, meeting strict measurement invariance criteria (χ2(21) = 1.34, p = 1.00). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that exit tickets predicted student self-efficacy and interest in CS, which are key educational outcomes. These findings suggest that exit tickets can be valuable tools for enhancing instructional practices and supporting student learning and engagement in CS education. The study concludes with recommendations for effectively implementing exit tickets in educational settings. 

Objectives. The increasing demand for computing skills has led to a rapid rise in the development of new computer science (CS) curricula, many with the goal of equitably broadening participation of underrepresented students in CS. While such initiatives are vital, factors outside of the school environment also play a role in influencing students’ interests. In this paper, we examined the effects of students’ perceived parental support on their interest in computer programming and explored the mechanisms through which this effect may have been established as students participated in an introductory CS instructional unit. Participants. This instructional unit was implemented with upper primary (grade 5) school students and was designed to broaden trajectories for participation in CS. The participants in the current study (N=170) came from six classrooms in two rural schools in the western United States. Study Method. The seven-week instructional unit began with students playing a commercial CS tabletop board game that highlighted fundamental programming concepts, and transitioned to having students create their own board game levels in the block-based programming language, Scratch. Further, because the board game could be taken home, the instructional unit offered opportunities to involve the family in school-based CS activities. To investigate the effect of students’ perception of parental (specifically father and mother) support on their interest in and self-efficacy to pursue CS, we surveyed students before and after the unit’s implementations and explored the structural relationship of the data using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results. We present three findings. First, the combined effect of students’ perceived mother’s and father’s support measured prior to the implementation (pre-survey) predicted students’ self-efficacy (Std B = 0.37, SE = 0.010, p < .001) and interest in computer programming (Std B = 0.328, SE = 0.134, p < .003) measured after the implementation (post-survey). Secondly, the combined effect of perceived mother and father support (Std B = 0.132, 95% CI [0.039, 0.399], 99% CI [0.017, 0.542]) on students’ interest was mediated by whether or not they took the CS board game home. Conclusions. Our findings indicate that perceived parental support has the potential to play an important role in students’ self-efficacy and interest in computer programming and that providing opportunities for students to bring CS artifacts home has the potential to further affect students’ interest in computer programming. 

The paper describes an intervention to support teachers and paraprofessionals to integrate mathematics and computer science. Expansive Framing is the theoretical framework used to support transfer. It might help to communicate clearly the connections between mathematics and computer science and how EF supports in making these connections. A couple of examples might help the reader understand what expansive framing means in the context of the problems and communicate the efficacy of the approach and limitations if any. It does add value to the discussions. This paper describes the engagement of teams to co-design of curriculum, drawing on Expansive Framing theory to encourage transfer of learning. Preliminary results are reported on the value of EF when clearly explicated in the lesson plans. This paper will be a valuable inclusion in this TSG. In reviewing this paper, check word and page length to adhere to template; if possible, it would be good to consider implications of your work with reference to scalability and sustainability. 

This paper presents a novel approach for predicting the outcomes of elementary students’ participation in computer science (CS) instruction by using exit tickets, a type of practical measure, where students provide rapid feedback on their instructional experiences. Such feedback can help teachers to inform ongoing teaching and instructional practices. We fit a Structural Equation Model to examine whether students' perceptions of enjoyment, ease, and connections between mathematics and CS in an integrated lesson predicted their affective outcomes in self-efficacy, interest, and CS identity, collected in a pre- post- survey. We found that practical measures can validly measure student experiences.