Posts in Unpacking Scholarship
Broadening Gender in Computing for Transgender and Nonbinary Learners

In this episode I unpack Menier, Zarch, and Sexton’s (2021) publication titled “Broadening gender in computing for transgender and nonbinary learners,” which is a position paper problematizes the current lack of trans and nonbinary individuals in discourse around gender in CS education.

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A Revaluation of Computational Thinking in K–12 Education: Moving Toward Computational Literacies

In this episode I unpack Kafai and Proctor’s (2021) publication titled “A revaluation of computational thinking in K–12 education: Moving toward computational literacies,” which summarizes three key framings of computational thinking and proposes computational literacies in place of computational thinking.

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2021 State of Computer Science Education: Accelerating Action Through Advocacy

In this episode I unpack the report titled “2021 state of computer science education: accelerating action through advocacy,” which is an annual report on the state of K-12 CS in the United States that was authored by The Code.org Advocacy Coalition, Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance (ECEP).

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Stitching the Loop with Electronic Textiles

In this episode I unpack Kafai et al.’s (2019) publication titled “Stitching the loop with electronic textiles: Promoting equity in high school students’ competencies and perceptions of computer science,” which explores the impact of an electronic textiles unit on high school students’ understandings of computer science.

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Culturally Responsive Debugging: a Method to Support Cultural Experts’ Early Engagement with Code

In this episode I unpack Lachney et al.’s (2021) publication titled “culturally responsive debugging: a method to support cultural experts’ early engagement with code,” which explores a strategy for situating debugging within professional expertise among participants within an introductory programming workshop for adults.

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Depression, Suicide, and Computer Science Education (Replay)

In honor of national suicide prevention week, in this week’s episode replay I read a paper I wrote on the topic of depression, suicide, and computer science education. This paper is formatted into the following sections: 1) A vignette on my own experiences coping with depression and suicide; 2) Statistics on depression and suicide as it relates to various populations computer science educators work with; 3) A vignette of a computer science educator helping a student through depression and suicidal thoughts; 4) Risk factors and warning signs; 5) Suggestions for providing support; 6) A vignette from a computer science educator's perspective on a student who committed suicide; and 7) Closing thoughts.

If you or anyone you know are experiencing signs of depression or suicidal ideation, please reach out to local healthcare professionals or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

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Re-examining Inequalities in Computer Science Participation from a Bourdieusian Sociological Perspective

In this episode I unpack Kallia and Cutts’ (2021) publication titled “Re-examining inequalities in computer science participation from a Bourdieusian sociological perspective,” which uses Bourdieu’s discussions of capital, habitus, and field to analyze 147 publications on CS interventions.

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Computing Educational Activities Involving People Rather Than Things Appeal More to Women (Recruitment Perspective)

In this episode I unpack Christensen et al.’s (2021) publication titled “Computing educational activities involving people rather than things appeal more to women (recruitment perspective),” which investigated the preferences of high school males and females for computing educational activities with people or things.

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Empowering K–12 Students with Disabilities to Learn Computational Thinking and Computer Programming

In this episode I unpack Israel et al.’s (2015) publication titled “Empowering K–12 students with disabilities to learn computational thinking and computer programming,” which is a short article that provides some strategies to increase access and engagement among students with disabilities in CS education contexts.

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Using Questions That Guide Mathematical Thinking to Think Computationally

In this episode I discuss some example questions we can ask to encourage kids to think deeper about computer science and computational thinking by unpacking two papers on using guiding questions in mathematics education. The first paper paper by Way (2014) is titled “Using questioning to stimulate mathematical thinking” and the second paper by Pennant (2018) is titled “Developing a classroom culture that supports a problem-solving approach to mathematics.”

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The Computer Science Teacher Landscape: Results of a Nationwide Teacher Survey

In this episode I unpack Koshy, Martin, Hinton, Scott, Twarek, and Davis’ (2021) publication titled “The Computer Science Teacher Landscape: Results of a Nationwide Teacher Survey,” which report provides recommendations for the field based on a summary of findings on teacher demographics, current challenges for CS educators, and the state of cultural relevance in CS education.

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