Teaching in an open village: a case study on culturally responsive computing in compulsory education

ABSTRACT

Background: As teachers work to broaden the participation of racially and ethnically underrepresented groups in computer science (CS), culturally responsive computing (CRC) becomes more pertinent to formal settings.

Objective: Yet, equity-oriented literature offers limited guidance for developing deep forms of CRC in the classroom. In response, we support the claim that “it takes a village” to develop equity-oriented CS education but additively highlight the roles of cultural experts in the process.

Methods: We use a case study methodology to explore one instance of this: a collaboration between a multi-racial team of researchers, a Black cosmetologist, and a White technology teacher.

Findings: Three themes supported the CRC collaboration: multi-directional relationship building, iterative engagement with culture-computing, and collaborative implementation of a hybrid lesson.

Implications: As opposed to orienting broadening participation around extractive metaphors like “pipelines,” our case study constructs the metaphor of an “open village” to orient CS education toward collaborations between schools and the communities they serve.

KEYWORDS:

• Computer science education
• broadening participation
• culturally responsive computing
• racial equity
• it takes a village

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The other two authors of this paper, Aman Yadav (who identifies as an Indian man) and Sukanya Moudgalya (who identifies as an Indian woman), were not part of the research team at the time.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [DGE-0947980].

Notes on contributors

Michael Lachney

Michael Lachney is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology program. His research is on the cultural politics of educational technology design and implementation in both school and out-of-school settings.

Audrey G. Bennett is a Professor of Art and Design at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is a former Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Scholar of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She studies the design of transformative images that through interactive aesthetics can permeate cultural boundaries and shape the ways we think and behave.

Ron Eglash received his B.S. in Cybernetics, his M.S. in Systems Engineering, and his Ph.D. in History of Consciousness, all from the University of California. His work includes the book African Fractals, and the online Culturally Situated Design Tools suite. He is currently a Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Aman Yadav is a Professor in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology Program and Director of the M.A. in Educational Technology at Michigan State University. His research focuses on educating pre-service and in-service teachers to teach computer science and incorporate computational thinking in elementary and secondary classrooms.

Sukanya Moudgalya is a PhD student at Michigan State University in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology Department. She is interested in culturally responsive computing, ethical computing, and working with K-12 teachers to support them in broadening participation in computing. Her background is in engineering and learning technologies.