Examining the Role of Racial Identity and Personal Experiences in Equity-focused Computer Science Learning

本项目将探讨种族与公平在中学计算机科学（CS）教育中的重要性。尽管计算机科学在生活的各个方面都很重要，但从小学到工业，这个领域几乎没有种族多样性。在中学阶段，即使是对计算机科学非常感兴趣和有信心的学生，在该领域的代表性仍然不足。为了解决这个问题，研究人员创造了文化响应计算方法，以有效地吸引更多的学生参与计算机科学。然而，实施这些方法的进展受到经验丰富的CS教师数量少的限制。本计划旨在协助中学教师发展学科知识和种族平等策略，以教授计算机科学。三个目标中的第一个目标是开发一套专业学习活动，这些活动在处理计算机科学主题和种族平等主题的方式上有所不同。第二个目标是检查每个活动如何吸引教师学习和谈论CS内容，种族和平等教学法。首席研究员将与一个城市学区合作，在该学区每月的CS教师会议期间开展活动。第三个目标是采访教师，了解他们的种族身份和过去在CS和教学中的经历如何影响他们参与活动。该项目旨在确定最有效的活动，以学习种族平等和CS主题。该项目的成果可以支持其他研究人员和教师教育工作者培训更多有能力为所有中学生提供公平的计算机科学学习体验的教师。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will explore the significance of race and equity in secondary computer science (CS) education. Despite the importance of CS across all aspects of life, there is little racial diversity in the field along the pipeline from elementary school to industry. At the secondary level, even students who are highly interested and confident in CS remain underrepresented in the field. To address this problem, researchers have created culturally responsive computing approaches to effectively engage more students in CS. However, progress in implementing these approaches is limited by the low number of experienced CS teachers. This project aims to support secondary teachers in developing both subject matter knowledge and racial equity strategies for teaching CS.The first of three goals is to develop a set of professional learning activities that vary in the ways they address CS subject matter and racial equity topics. The second goal is to examine how well each activity engages teachers in learning and talking about CS content, race, and equity pedagogy. The principal investigator will collaborate with an urban school district to deliver the activities during the district’s monthly CS teacher meetings. The third goal is to interview teachers to learn how their racial identity and past experiences in CS and in teaching influence their participation in the activities. The project aims to identify the most effective activities for learning about both racial equity and CS subject matter. The outcomes of this project may support other researchers and teacher educators to train more teachers who are equipped to provide equitable CS learning experiences for all secondary students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.