Equitable Learning Environments in K-12 Computing

The current efforts to expand computer science (CS) education in K-12 schools, such as the “CS for All” initiative, highlight the need for all students to get an opportunity to study computing. However, as recent research has shown, diversity in computing at the K-12 level remains problematic, and additional research is needed to look at how computer science learning environments can impact minority student interest and retention in CS. In this article, we report results from an in-depth qualitative study of high school computer science teachers’ perspective on barriers to increasing diversity in their classes. Based on teachers’ experiences, we provide practical recommendations on how to encourage equitable learning environments in K-12 computer science courses.

[1]  Joanna Goode,et al.  An equity lens for scaling , 2015, Inroads.

[2]  Paul S. Rosenbloom,et al.  On Computing: The Fourth Great Scientific Domain , 2012 .

[3]  Yasuko Kanno,et al.  “I’m Not Going to Be, Like, for the AP” , 2014 .

[4]  Hongmei Chi,et al.  Teaching Computing to STEM Students via Visualization Tools , 2011, ICCS.

[5]  Michèlle Friend,et al.  Middle school girls’ envisioned future in computing , 2015, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[6]  A. Vítores,et al.  The trouble with ‘women in computing’: a critical examination of the deployment of research on the gender gap in computer science , 2016 .

[7]  Mark Guzdial,et al.  A future for computing education research , 2014, Commun. ACM.

[8]  M. Mason.  Sample Size and Saturation in PhD Studies Using Qualitative Interviews , 2010 .

[9]  Mary Aleta White,et al.  COMPUGIRLS’ Standpoint , 2013 .

[10]  Denise Wilson,et al.  DIFFERENCES IN SELF-EFFICACY AMONG WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN STEM , 2015 .

[11]  Nancy Ares,et al.  The Geographies of Difference: The Production of the East Side,West Side, and Central City School , 2004 .

[12]  Gary R. Howard.  We Can't Teach What We Don't Know: White Teachers Multiracial Schools , 2000 .

[13]  Ange-Marie Hancock,et al.  Empirical Intersectionality: A Tale of Two Approaches , 2013, The Palgrave Handbook of Intersectionality in Public Policy.

[14]  Steven Z. Athanases,et al.  Focusing New Teachers on Diversity and Equity: Toward a Knowledge Base for Mentors. , 2005 .

[15]  Catherine Ashcraft,et al.  Becoming Technosocial Change Agents: Intersectionality and Culturally Responsive Pedagogies as Vital Resources for Increasing Girls’ Participation in Computing , 2017 .

[16]  Joanna Goode.  Increasing diversity in k-12 computer science: strategies from the field , 2008, SIGCSE '08.

[17]  A. Meltzoff,et al.  Computing Whether She Belongs: Stereotypes Undermine Girls’ Interest and Sense of Belonging in Computer Science , 2016 .

[18]  Aman Yadav,et al.  Learning to Program: Gender Differences and Interactive Effects of Students' Motivation, Goals, and Self-Efficacy on Performance , 2016, ICER.

[19]  Maia S. Howse.  International Society for Technology in Education. , 1993 .

[20]  Aman Yadav,et al.  Computational Thinking and Media & Information Literacy: An Integrated Approach to Teaching Twenty-First Century Skills , 2016 .

[21]  Linda J. Sax.  Examining the Underrepresentation of Women in STEM Fields: Early Findings from the Field of Computer Science , 2012 .

[22]  Mark Guzdial,et al.  Who AM I?: understanding high school computer science teachers' professional identity , 2012, SIGCSE '12.

[23]  J. R. Landis,et al.  The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. , 1977, Biometrics.

[24]  S. Nieto.  Placing Equity Front and Center , 2000 .

[25]  Peter Andreae,et al.  The role of teachers in implementing curriculum changes , 2013, SIGCSE '13.

[26]  Sapna Cheryan,et al.  The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women , 2013 .

[27]  R. Estrella,et al.  Stuck in the Shallow End Education , Race , and Computing , 2008 .

[28]  Mark Zuckerberg,et al.  Computer Science for All , 2016 .

[29]  Peter Hubwieser,et al.  Gender differences in programming: research results and teachers' perception , 2015, Koli Calling.

[30]  Ardis Hanson,et al.  Negative Case Analysis , 2017 .

[31]  Colleen M. Lewis,et al.  How Equity and Inequity Can Emerge in Pair Programming , 2015, ICER.

[32]  Ann Phoenix,et al.  Ain't I A Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality , 2004 .

[33]  GoodeJoanna.  Increasing diversity in k-12 computer science , 2008 .

[34]  Sylvia Beyer,et al.  Why are women underrepresented in Computer Science? Gender differences in stereotypes, self-efficacy, values, and interests and predictors of future CS course-taking and grades , 2014, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[35]  Sylvia Valentin,et al.  Addressing Diversity in Teacher Education Programs. , 2006 .

[36]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  Enrollments explode! but diversity students are leaving… , 2016, Commun. ACM.

[37]  Lynda Thomas,et al.  Dangers of a fixed mindset: implications of self-theories research for computer science education , 2008, ITiCSE.

[38]  T. Misa.  Gender Codes: Why Women Are Leaving Computing , 2010 .

[39]  Jared Russell,et al.  Preservice Science Teachers and Cultural Diversity Awareness , 2014 .

[40]  Melissa E. O'Neill,et al.  Framing classroom climate for student learning and retention in computer science , 2014, SIGCSE.

[41]  Amy M. Hightower,et al.  Science and Engineering Indicators , 1993 .

[42]  Lijun Ni.  What makes CS teachers change?: factors influencing CS teachers' adoption of curriculum innovations , 2009, SIGCSE '09.

[43]  Aman Yadav,et al.  Computational Thinking for All: Pedagogical Approaches to Embedding 21st Century Problem Solving in K-12 Classrooms , 2016 .

[44]  Cynthia Wright,et al.  A Feminist Approach to Decolonizing Anti-Racism : Rethinking Transnationalism , Intersectionality , and Settler Colonialism , 2015 .

[45]  Colleen M. Lewis,et al.  Building equitable computer science classrooms: elements of a teaching approach , 2013, SIGCSE '13.

[46]  Lecia Jane Barker,et al.  Communication in computer science classrooms: understanding defensive climates as a means of creating supportive behaviors , 2004, JERC.

[47]  Joanna Goode,et al.  Beyond access: broadening participation in high school computer science , 2012, INROADS.

[48]  S. Clegg,et al.  Gender and Computing: Not the same old problem , 2000 .

[49]  L. McCall.  The Complexity of Intersectionality , 2005, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.