Fair Play: Elevating Teacher Voices around Computational Thinking and Digital Equitable Literacies

Framework

Theoretical foundations of the project included the Equitable CITE Pedagogy (2023) design principles, including co-learning and co-construction of knowledge in communities; supporting learner agency to tinker with, modify, and co-create tools; mobilizing computing and digital tools for social action; fostering critical consciousness; and building capacity to learn, participate in communities, and act for institutional transformation towards justice.

We utilized McKenney and Reeves’ (2021) educational design research (EDR) approach to investigate practice and theory in real educational contexts.

Methods

The research involved a systematic literature review, student surveys, a literature review, a faculty focus group [Phase one], and a "Play Fair" event in August 2024 [Phase two]. The Play Fair was a three-day event where TCs (N = 33) from various programs learned about CTDL principles and tinkered with different artifacts. The data collected from our inquiry was quantitative and qualitative in nature. Retrospective data and faculty and teacher candidate focus group data were coded using Dedoose; qualitative data from surveys will be analyzed using SPSS.

Results

Findings from phase one revealed that teacher preparation programs needed more methods for teaching CTDL concepts and skills. In fact, we found that the literature currently focuses more on students' experiences with CT rather than TCs’ interactions with CTDL. There was also a need for more research on how technology can enhance understanding of CT. Retrospective data showed a deep interest in CTDL despite initial skepticism about the nature of the artifacts and assignments. Phase one of our project suggests that teacher candidates would benefit from sustained and hands-on experiences with CTDL principles and artifacts, beyond the infusion into coursework. Given these findings, the "Play Fair" impact on TCs' interests, perceptions, and dispositions towards CTDL is hypothesized to be significant.
We examine the opportunities that time provides to experiment and innovate as part of an ongoing practice of working with, against, and through technology (CUNY CITE Equity Working Group, 2023).

Importance

Our study could serve as a pilot program to refine CTDL teacher preparation that could be applied to all clinical experiences, focusing on the perspectives and voices of Teacher Candidates. The project aimed to prepare Teacher Candidates better to succeed in a changing environment by integrating computational thinking into their future practice.

References

References

Boulden, D. M. C. (2020). Building the capacity of in-service teachers to integrate and teach
computational thinking [Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University]. NC State University Libraries. https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/
a2ad5ed2-6b60-423c-a805-8c2d4567c755/content

The CUNY CITE Equity Working Group. (2023). Equitable CITE Pedagogy: Putting it into
Praxis. City University of New York — Computing Integrated Teacher Education. https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/equitable-cite-pedagogy-putting-it-into-praxis/section/45bc24dc-6adb-49a9-96b8-25dfd185e37a

Espinal, A., Vieira, C., & Magana, A. J. (2024). Professional development in computational
thinking: A systematic literature review. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 24(2), 1—24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3648477

McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. C. (2020). Educational design research: Portraying, conducting,
and enhancing productive scholarship. Medical Education, 55(1), 82–92.

Yadav, A., Good, J., Voogt, J., & Fisser, P. (2017). Computational thinking as an emerging
competence domain. In Mulder, M. (Ed.), Competence-based vocational and professional education: Building the worlds of work and education (pp. 1051—1067). Springer.