Putting Making into High School Computer Science Classrooms: Promoting Equity in Teaching and Learning with Electronic Textiles in Exploring Computer Science

Recent discussions of making have focused on developing out-of-school makerspaces and activities to provide more equitable and enriching learning opportunities for youth. Yet school classrooms present a unique opportunity to help broaden access, diversify representation, and deepen participation in making. In turning to classrooms, we want to understand the crucial practices that teachers employ in broadening and deepening access to making. In this paper, we investigate two high school teachers’ approaches in implementing a novel eight-week, electronic textiles unit within the Exploring Computer Science curriculum, where students designed wearable electronic textile projects with microcontrollers, sensors, and LEDs. We share teachers’ emergent practices in transforming their classrooms into makerspaces, including valuing student expertise and promoting connections in personalized work. We discuss the ways these practices succeeded in broadening access to making while deepening participation in computing and establishing home-school connections

Connecting with Computer Science: Electronic Textile Portfolios as Ideational Identity Resources for High School Students

The development of student identities—their interests in computer science, perceptions of the discipline, and sense of belonging in the field—is critical for broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computing. This paper reports on the design of portfolios in which two classes of high school students reflected on the process of making electronic textile projects. We examine how students expressed self-authorship in relation to computer science and how the use of reflective portfolios shaped students’ perceptions of computer science. In the discussion we consider how reflective portfolios can serve as ideational resources for computer science identity construction

A Systematic Review of Studies on Educational Robotics

There has been a steady increase in the number of studies investigating educational robotics and its impact on academic and social skills of young learners. Educational robots are used both in and out of school environments to enhance K–12 students’ interest, engagement, and academic achievement in various fields of STEM education. Some prior studies show evidence for the general benefits of educational robotics as being effective in providing impactful learning experiences. However, there appears to be a need to determine the specific benefits which have been achieved through robotics implementation in K–12 formal and informal learning settings. In this study, we present a systematic review of the literature on K–12 educational robotics. Based on our review process with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a repeatable method of systematic review, we found 147 studies published from the years 2000 to 2018. We classified these studies under five themes: (1) general effectiveness of educational robotics; (2) students’ learning and transfer skills; (3) creativity and motivation; (4) diversity and broadening participation; and (5) teachers’ professional development. The study outlines the research questions, presents the synthesis of literature, and discusses findings across themes. It also provides guidelines for educators, practitioners, and researchers in areas of educational robotics and STEM education, and presents dimensions of future research

When is an Owl More Than an Owl? An Interaction Analysis of a Computer Science Co-design Conversation on Cultural Relevance

The learning sciences community is currently exploring new ways to enact productive and equitable co-design research-practice partnerships that are sensitive to all the concerns and needs of stakeholders. The paper contributes to that still-growing literature through an interaction analysis of a co-design discussion involving school district partners that unfolded about cultural relevance and sensitivity in relation to the use of a specific image in an elementary school coding lesson. The episode involved looking moment-by-moment at how district educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a minoritized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design

Cambodia: Diversifying Beyond Garments and Tourism

[Excerpt] Cambodia is in the challenging process of economic transition as it seeks to move beyond low-skill, low-value activities and expand its industrial base to generate broad-based inclusive growth. As the Government of Cambodia continues to build on strong growth and address emerging challenges, this study supports Cambodia’s efforts to sustain growth and make it more inclusive. The study identifies the critical constraints to development: namely, the need for better infrastructure, especially in the energy sector and rural transport; higher skills and educational levels; and improved governance to enhance the business and investment environment. The study also recognizes the need for better collection and allocation of fiscal resources to meet growing demand for economic and social investment. A special section highlights the need to diversify and upgrade the economy’s productive activities as the country develops and transitions toward higher-value activities in global value chains

Diversity in Computer Science

This is an open access book that covers the complete set of experiences and results of the FemTech.dk research which we have had conducted between 2016-2021 – from initiate idea to societal communication. Diversity in Computer Science: Design Artefacts for Equity and Inclusion presents and documents the principles, results, and learnings behind the research initiative FemTech.dk, which was created in 2016 and continues today as an important part of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen’s strategic development for years to come. FemTech.dk was created in 2016 to engage with research within gender and diversity and to explore the role of gender equity as part of digital technology design and development. FemTech.dk considers how and why computer science as a field and profession in Denmark has such a distinct unbalanced gender representation in the 21st century. This book is also the story of how we (the authors) as computer science researchers embarked on a journey to engage with a new research field – equity and gender in computing – about which we had only sporadic knowledge when we began. We refer here to equity and gender in computing as a research field – but in reality, this research field is a multiplicity of entangled paths, concepts, and directions that forms important and critical insights about society, gender, politics, and infrastructures which are published in different venues and often have very different sets of criteria, values, and assumptions. Thus, part of our journey is also to learn and engage with all these different streams of research, concepts, and theoretical approaches and, through these engagements, to identify and develop our own theoretical platform, which has a foundation in our research backgrounds in Human–Computer Interaction broadly – and Interaction Design & Computer Supported Cooperative Work specifically

Diversity in Computer Science

This is an open access book that covers the complete set of experiences and results of the FemTech.dk research which we have had conducted between 2016-2021 – from initiate idea to societal communication. Diversity in Computer Science: Design Artefacts for Equity and Inclusion presents and documents the principles, results, and learnings behind the research initiative FemTech.dk, which was created in 2016 and continues today as an important part of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen’s strategic development for years to come. FemTech.dk was created in 2016 to engage with research within gender and diversity and to explore the role of gender equity as part of digital technology design and development. FemTech.dk considers how and why computer science as a field and profession in Denmark has such a distinct unbalanced gender representation in the 21st century. This book is also the story of how we (the authors) as computer science researchers embarked on a journey to engage with a new research field – equity and gender in computing – about which we had only sporadic knowledge when we began. We refer here to equity and gender in computing as a research field – but in reality, this research field is a multiplicity of entangled paths, concepts, and directions that forms important and critical insights about society, gender, politics, and infrastructures which are published in different venues and often have very different sets of criteria, values, and assumptions. Thus, part of our journey is also to learn and engage with all these different streams of research, concepts, and theoretical approaches and, through these engagements, to identify and develop our own theoretical platform, which has a foundation in our research backgrounds in Human–Computer Interaction broadly – and Interaction Design & Computer Supported Cooperative Work specifically

Literature Review on Issues Surrounding GCSE Textiles Courses in English Secondary Schools

Textiles is currently the least popular mainstream GCSE option in England, and because I am a Textiles teacher, I conducted a literature review to determine and understand why this may be the case. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of male pupils’ opting to take a GCSE in Textiles is very low. Indeed, the association between sewing and female domesticity appears to have had a negative impact on male students opting for the subject, as the low male GCSE numbers are also present in Child Development, Dance and Health & Social Care. Additionally, the literature suggests creative subjects in general have been taught in a manner that does not motivate pupils nor allow creativity within the lessons. Furthermore, many pupils in Textiles classes are often given projects that result in stereotypical and unoriginal final outcomes, as teachers favour the reliability of getting all their students to produce the same outcome e.g. an embroidered cushion. Additionally, as a result of these sorts of Textiles projects, pupils struggle to see the point in the designing and planning stages of their products, as they will all be the same. Moreover, uninspiring projects that favour practical skill learning, over designing, planning and problem solving activities, have resulted in schools and the government questioning whether Textiles can be considered an academic subject. Indicatively, Textiles subjects have not been included in the English Baccalaureate qualification, and feasibly, this may have led to certain top UK universities listing Textiles subjects as undesirable academic qualifications to possess

The Effects of Using Educational Videos in Online Learning: A Case Study for Basic Computer Science Subject

This study was conducted to examine the effect of the use of educational videos in online learning which can attract students and help students understand the topic of learning more effectively. A quantitative design with a survey method was used in this study. The respondents of the study consisted of 43 teachers of Basic Computer Science subjects in the state of Perak who were selected by random sampling. A questionnaire form instrument was used to collect data based on a five-point Likert Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive analysis where the mean amount was determined based on a predetermined level. The results show that the use of educational videos can help students understand the topics of learning effectively with an average mean value = of 4.40. In addition, educational videos also help attract students to learning topics with an average mean value = of 4.30. The implications of this study indicate that the use of educational videos in online learning is proven to have a positive impact on students