In this interview Bryan Brown, we discuss the importance of language in education. In particular, we discuss the role of language in teaching and learning, discursive identity, situated language and learning, the importance of representation in education, the role of language on stress, how smartphones and virtual communication platforms (e.g., Zoom) could change learning, and many other topics relevant to CS education and learning.
Read MoreThis episode is episode two of a miniseries that unpacks Paulo Freire’s (1970) book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” This particular episode unpacks chapter 2, which discusses the “banking” approach to education that assumes students are repositories of information, and then proposes a liberatory approach to education that focuses on posing problems that students and teachers collaboratively solve. If you haven’t listened to the discussion on the first chapter, click here.
Read MoreIn this interview with Kristin Stephens-Martinez, we discuss learning CS in large classes (e.g., 200+ students), the winding and challenging journey through education and research, recognizing the importance of representation and providing support for underrepresented identities, the benefits of peer instruction, Kristin’s podcast (CS-Ed Podcast), the disconnect between research on education and practice in the classroom, and much more.
Read MoreThis episode is the start of a miniseries that unpacks Paulo Freire’s (1970) book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” This particular episode unpacks chapter 1, which discusses how oppressors maintain control over the oppressed. Following unpacking scholarship episodes discuss what this looks like in education and how educators can adopt a “pedagogy of the oppressed” to break cycles of oppression.
Read MoreBuilding off the previous episode on depression, suicide, and CS education, this episode is a supercut of guests responding to how they take care of themselves and stave off burnout.
Read MoreIn honor of national suicide prevention week, in this week’s episode 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
Read MoreIn this interview with Dan Schneider, we discuss how Dan transitioned from math education to CS education, designing spaces for educational experiences, suggestions for expanding and diversifying CS programs, how pedagogical approaches evolve over time through experimentation and reflection, the importance of listening to and working with kids one-on-one, and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack Goode’s (2008) publication titled “Increasing diversity in K-12 computer science: Strategies from the field," which provides suggestions for educators who are interested in increasing the diversity of their CS classes or programs.
Read MoreIn this interview with Martin Urbach, we discuss the importance of intentionality in education, exploring the social/political/historical contexts that can be explored in an educational experience, student choice and agency in the design of a space or experience, how to fight oppressive systems in education from the inside, committing to continuing to learn and grow on a daily basis, and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack Goode’s (2010) publication titled “Connecting K-16 curriculum & policy: Making computer science engaging, accessible, and hospitable for underrepresented students” which discusses the development process behind the Exploring Computer Science curriculum, as well as the policy work that occurred in parallel with the the curriculum development.
Read MoreIn this interview with Joyce McCall, we unpack and problematize some of the issues around race and racism in relation to education. In particular, we discuss the importance of allies not only showing up to support marginalized or oppressed groups, but staying when conversations get uncomfortable; the Shire from the Lord of the Rings as a metaphor for hegemony and systemic racism; as well as a variety of theories such as critical race theory, double consciousness, cultural capital; and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack Washington's (2020) paper titled "When twice as good isn't enough: The case for cultural competence in computing," which explores the five elements and six stages of cultural competence in relation ton undergraduate computing programs.
Read MoreIn this interview with Shuchi Grover, we discuss the importance of having a variety of assessments in a CS class, why we need more research on computational thinking, why educators and scholars should read literature outside of the field, Shuchi’s new book titled “Computer Science in K-12: An A-To-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming,” and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack Ladson-Billings’ (1995) seminal publication titled “Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy,” which influenced much of the discourse around culturally relevant pedagogy in computer science education.
Read MoreIn this interview with Laurie “Mrs. Geeky” Green, we discuss advice for novice and veteran computer science educators who are integrating CS and technology in a variety of subject areas, what an engaging integration experience looks like, the importance of finding platforms and approaches that work for you and the kids you work with, helping administrators and educators understand what computer science is (and how it’s different than computational thinking), suggestions for integrating in online and virtual spaces, and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack the chapter titled “Equity in Computer Science Education” from the K-12 Computer Science Framework (2016). This chapter discusses how equity issues influenced the development of the framework, which was used to develop CSTA’s national CS standards and many state CS standards.
Read MoreIn this interview with Stacie Mason and Peter Rich, we discuss recommendations for introducing and integrating computational thinking in the classroom, the importance of contextualizing computational thinking within coding practices, peer and family influence on learning to code and to think computationally, lessons learned by researching coding and computational thinking, our perspectives on whether computer science and coding should be a mandatory subject, and much more.
Read MoreRather than listen to this week’s planned unpacking scholarship episode, please take the time to learn from the anti-racism resources in the show notes, then share and respectfully discuss them with others.
Read MoreIn this interview with Brenda Bass, we discuss advice for educators interested in getting started with robotics or physical computing, considering equity and access with robots and physical computing devices, how to learn more about robotics and CS without a background in either area, and much more.
Read MoreIn this episode I unpack Graves and DeLyser’s (2017) article titled “Interested In Class, But Not In The Hallway: A Latent Class Analysis (LCA) of 2015-16 CS4All Student Surveys,” which highlights that although many of the 1,525 survey respondents expressed an interest in computer science in the classroom settings, they did not choose to engage in CS outside of the classroom.
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