Computational Thinking in an After-School Program: How Critical Pedagogy Can Facilitate Engagement for Urban Youth

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Perspectives on Computing: Exploring Digital Literacies Through Cultural Responsiveness

Abstract

Understanding the digital divide as a matter of social justice includes research committed to identifying meaningful learning opportunities that create the conditions for urban youth to engage in computational thinking. In this article, I explore how a critical pedagogical approach facilitates the engagement of urban youth in a mobile app development project within an afterschool program. Drawing on field notes and video data over a semester-long project, I provide qualitative reflections on student engagement using the theoretical perspective of situated cognition. Findings reveal that the affordances of critical pedagogy for student engagement include the opportunity to situate computational activity within a sociopolitical context, as well as allowing for multiple pathways into meaningful participation.

Author

• Sepehr Vakil, University of California - Berkeley