DEPICT4OST: Discovering Computational Thinking through Creative Arts, for Out of School Time

Purpose & objective

DEPICT (Discover Computational Thinking through Creative Writing), a National Science Foundation grant, has developed 12 new hands-on activities around foundational Computational Thinking (CT) skills that students need to succeed in any discipline not just STEM. This session will be set up for participants to actively engage in two of these activities, as we believe that hands-on learning allows the teacher to become the facilitator of learning, incorporating various strategies to guide learners.

DEPICT investigates a novel intervention to broaden participation in computing of women and Hispanic high school students. DEPICT joins the family of interventions that explore the use of non-computing vehicles to expose students to Computational Thinking (CT). These approaches are motivated by the desire to sidestep the negative image and low self-efficacy associated with computing by introducing CT in a more appealing and "comfortable" domain for the student.

Learning Objectives:
1. To gain awareness of Computational Thinking skills that can be infused into the currently taught curriculum.
2. To develop a discussion, regarding how Computational Thinking practices can enhance the learning experience in any discipline.
3. To explore four Computational Thinking concepts: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Algorithmic Thinking, and Abstraction to solve everyday problem scenarios in the learning environment.

DEPICT has undergone careful user testing, formative evaluation, and research to document learning gains. In 2022-2023, 90 high school students from creative writing classes participated in an experimental study to measure the effect of DEPICT infusion and related inquiry-based activities on their understanding of problem-solving skills such as Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Algorithmic Thinking, and Abstraction. Preliminary findings showed that DEPICT activities do make an impact on students' problem-solving understanding when applied to the design of creative pieces such as storyboarding, character design, screenplay writing, and poetry. A significant amount of data for DEPICT has been collected and will soon be analyzed and disseminated. A description of study methodologies, "DEPICT: Discovering Computational Thinking through Creative Writing" was published in Technology, Knowledge, and Learning.

Enrichment activities help build human and cultural capital and develop and define children’s interests and skills. Youth access to enrichment activities (e.g., arts, sports, music, theater, or other types of activities not necessarily related to increasing academic performance) is highly dependent upon family income. The highest-income families spend almost seven times more on enrichment activities for their children, and this spending gap creates an opportunity gap. By participating in activities otherwise not readily available to them, low-income youth have access to new and enriching experiences that may provide lasting developmental benefits.

Outline

This presentation will allow attendees to interact with computational thinking-based hands-on activities that can be used to support teaching. All the DEPICT materials are designed to enhance the curriculum used by teachers and are not intended to replace it. Therefore, participants will be able to evaluate and provide feedback on these materials. DEPICT activities will allow participants to engage and explore the learning in a similar way as their students. Participants will also have an opportunity to engage in questioning, and problem-solving, and provide feedback to researchers on how this experience can transfer into the classroom.

Participants will explore some of the following key concepts:
● Decomposition: Breaking a problem down into smaller, more manageable parts.
● Pattern Recognition: The practice of finding similarities between items as a way of gaining extra information.
● Abstraction: Focusing on what’s important. Ignoring what is unnecessary.
● Algorithmic Thinking: Generate a set of step-by-step instructions that describe how to perform a task.

Participants will begin by discussing what they and their students may know or not know about computational thinking and how DEPICT materials address this gap. (10 minutes).

Participants will then have a 25-30-minute concept introduction by doing two random hands-on activities. In groups of 2-3 people, they will engage in hands-on activities that relate to a specific computational thinking concept. The goal is to introduce a concept by performing a task. This will also provide new ideas for teachers to infuse computational thinking concepts using regular daily tasks.

After this, participants will be provided with lesson plan ideas that DEPICT pilot tested in creative writing and creative media classes and as part of the summer camp curriculum (10 minutes)

Finally, a 10-minute session of reflection and assessment will encourage participants to talk to each other and share strategies.

Supporting research

Authors (2023). DEPICT: Discovering Computational Thinking in Creative Writing Courses. In E. Langran, P. Christensen & J. Sanson (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1487-1492). New Orleans, LA, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Coburn, C. E. (2003). Rethinking scale: Moving beyond numbers to deep and lasting change. Educational researcher, 32(6), 3-12.

code.org. (2021) Why Computer Science? https://advocacy.code.org.

code.org. (2020) Illuminating Disparities: Data on Computer Science Participation by
Gender and Race/Ethnicity. Technical report.

College Board (2020). AP Program Participation and Performance Data 2020. Technical report, College Board.

Dalton, B., Pisha, B., Eagleton, M., Coyne, P., & Deysher, S. (2002). Engaging the text: Reciprocal teaching and questioning strategies in a scaffolded digital learning environment. Final report to US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Washington, DC.

Cuny, J., Snyder, L., and Wing, J. (2010). Demystifying Computational Thinking for
Non-Computer Scientists. Work in Progress

Gilbert, J. K. (1998). Learning science through models and modeling. International handbook of science education, 56.

Jonassen, D. (2003). Using cognitive tools to represent problems. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35(3), 362-381.

Ryokai, K., Vaucelle, C., & Cassell, J. (2003). Virtual peers as partners in storytelling and literacy learning. Journal of computer assisted learning, 19(2), 195-208.

Sax, L. J., Newhouse, K. N., Goode, J., Skorodinsky, M., Nakajima, T. M., & Sendowski, M. (2020, February). Do ap cs principles broaden participation in computing? an analysis of apcsa and apcsp participants. In Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 542-548).