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ABSTRACT
We recommend the conceptualization of computing as a critical literacy, and ground this conceptualization in considerations of historical and current realities in computing. The frameworks of connected learning and computational participation are recommended as guides for doing critical computing literacy. We present the findings from an interpretive case study of the SciGirls Code (SGC) program. This program was piloted with 16 after–school programs for middle school girls that engaged them in computer science (NSF #1543209). This research investigated girls’ learning, attitudes, and participation involving 84 participants across 11 sites aged 10-14 and in 5th-8th grades. Through sharing a vignette from one site and highlighting findings from this study, we illustrate ways to do critical computing literacy and examine the potential of using connected learning and computational participation in designing more equitable computer science education offerings.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Cassandra Scharber
Cassandra Scharber is an Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at the University of Minnesota. She is committed to community-engaged projects and scholarship, and serves as a lead for CSforAll-MN, Minnesota’s chapter of the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) alliance that supports K12 computer science education. Her research spans the areas of technology integration, digital literacies, and computational thinking. Scharber has published in journals including Gender and Education, Educational Philosophy and Theory, and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.
Lana Peterson
Lana Peterson is the Director of Community Engagement at the LT Media Lab as well as a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Peterson’s research focuses on engaging underrepresented populations in computer science education through policy, pedagogy, and professional development.
Yu-Hui Chang
Yu-Hui Chang is a Doctoral Candidate in the Learning Technologies program within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on technology integration and professional development in the digital age. She is also working on using qualitative content analysis to explore computational participation, knowledge building, and online collaboration.
Sarah Barksdale
Sarah Barksdale is a doctoral student in the Learning Technologies program within the University of Minnesota’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction. A former secondary English teacher, her research interests include teacher education and professional development, online learning, equitable K-12 computer science education, and the integration of technology and computational thinking into content areas.
Ramya Sivaraj
Ramya Sivaraj is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, specializing in STEM education with a supporting minor in Learning Technologies. Her research interests include studying collaborative discourse, with a focus on epistemic or knowledge-building resources and practices in integrated STEM contexts. Her dissertation study examines how middle school students engage in epistemic practices during small group engineering design activities.