Broadening participation in computing

Scott, Allison; Martin, Alexis; McAlear, Frieda; Koshy, Sonia

doi:10.1145/3149921

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The presence of persistent racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in participation remains a critical challenge for computer science and computational disciplines (Ladner & Israel, 2016;Michell, Szorenyi, Falkner, & Szabo, 2017;Scott, McAlear, Martin, & Koshy, 2017). Pioneering work from Hutchison, Follman, Sumpter, and Bodner (2006) suggests that self-efficacy in computing among women students may be a valuable focus for intervention.…”

Section: New Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward computational apprenticeship: Bringing a constructivist agenda to computational pedagogy

Fennell

Lyon

Madamanchi

et al. 2020

J of Engineering Edu

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Section: New Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward computational apprenticeship: Bringing a constructivist agenda to computational pedagogy

Fennell

Lyon

Madamanchi

et al. 2020

J of Engineering Edu

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“…The presence of persistent racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in participation remain critical challenges for computer science and computational disciplines (Ladner & Israel, 2016;Michell, Szorenyi, Falkner, & Szabo, 2017;Scott, McAlear, Martin, & Koshy, 2017). Using cognitive apprenticeship within computing courses has been shown to significantly lower drop-out rates (Vihavainen, Paksula, & Luukkainen, 2011).…”

Section: New Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational apprenticeship: Cognitive apprenticeship for the digital era

Fennell¹,

Lyon²,

Madamanchi³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The conceptualization of Computational Thinking as a cross-cutting skill with relevance across disciplines has ushered in wide-ranging efforts to increase computational education in all facets of education. However, the majority of initiatives for integrated computing education have focused on K-12 settings, as has most education research around computational thinking. At the postsecondary level, computing education remains largely siloed within specific programming courses and has not been well-integrated throughout the STEM curriculum. Current instructional approaches often leave students poorly prepared to transfer their computing knowledge to solve new real-world problems. Additionally, there is limited education research into how best to develop computational thinking among postsecondary students. In fact, education research into computational thinking remains undertheorized and is often definitional in nature. Here, we integrate computational thinking with the educational psychology concept of adaptive expertise. Finally, we contextualize computational thinking within constructivist learning theories by introducing computational apprenticeship, an application of cognitive apprenticeship to computing. Computational apprenticeship provides a research and practice model for supporting the development of computational adaptive expertise.

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“…A significant implication of these initiatives is the need to tightly integrate computational thinking (CT) activities across science curricula because modern science increasingly relies on computational tools and methods (e.g., Denning, 2017; Sengupta et al, 2013; Weintrop et al, 2016; Wilensky et al, 2014). However, science who strive to integrate computing into their daily classroom instruction must contend with some of the critical issues surrounding equity and inclusion documented in the prior literature because research shows that computing education environments disproportionately favor White and Asian males while marginalizing female students and students of color (e.g., Kafai et al, 2020; Margolis, 2017; Pinkard, 2005; Scott et al, 2017). As computing is fast becoming a staple of science education, it is important to investigate the nature of students' engagement with CT activities embedded within science units if we are to train competent science teachers and design inclusive science learning environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the formal and disconnected nature of standalone CS courses might overlook students' diverse and social ways of learning and knowing (Turkle & Papert, 1992). Female and BIPOC students report lower interest in CS because they see it as a discipline for male students from dominant communities (Gal‐Ezer et al, 2009; Master et al, 2016; Scott et al, 2017). Some students also report that they prefer group work and collaboration, dislike sitting in front of a computer for extended time periods, and wish to pursue more people‐oriented domains (Carter, 2006; DuBow & Pruitt, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many contemporary initiatives implicitly assume that simply increasing female and BIPOC students' exposure to computing would be sufficient. However, recent studies suggest that more exposure does not automatically result in increased enjoyment of computing or motivation to learn more about computing (Ashcraft et al, 2017; Lang et al, 2015; Scott et al, 2017). Short‐term interventions and specialized programs fail to increase female and BIPOC students' participation in computing (e.g., Sax et al, 2020; Scott et al, 2017; Wyatt et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Why are some students “not into” computational thinking activities embedded within high school science units? Key takeaways from a microethnographic discourse analysis study

Aslan,

Horn,

Wilensky

2024

Science Education

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Science educators are integrating more and more computational thinking (CT) activities into their curricula. Proponents of CT offer two motivations: familiarizing students with a realistic depiction of the computational nature of modern scientific practices and encouraging more students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, some studies show that increasing exposure to computing may not necessarily translate to the hypothesized gains in participation by female students and students of color. Therefore, paying close attention to students' engagement in computationally intense science activities is important to finding more impactful ways to promote equitable science education. In this paper, we present an in‐depth analysis of the interactions among a small, racially diverse group of high school students during a chemistry unit with tightly integrated CT activities. We find a salient interaction between the students' engagement with the CT activities and their social identification with publicly recognizable categories such as “enjoys coding” or “finds computing boring.” We show that CT activities in science education can lead to numerous rich interactions that could, if leveraged correctly, allow educators to facilitate more inclusive science classrooms. However, we also show that such opportunities would be missed unless teachers are attentive to them. We discuss the implications of our findings on future work to integrate CT across science curricula and teacher education.

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Broadening participation in computing

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

Toward computational apprenticeship: Bringing a constructivist agenda to computational pedagogy

Toward computational apprenticeship: Bringing a constructivist agenda to computational pedagogy

Computational apprenticeship: Cognitive apprenticeship for the digital era

Why are some students “not into” computational thinking activities embedded within high school science units? Key takeaways from a microethnographic discourse analysis study

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