Developing High-Tech, Low-Cost Making Projects to Enhance Computational Teaching and Learning

• In Event: 61.068 - MTCC Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 61.068-11 - Internal Practices and Professional Development Within Informal Learning Environments

Abstract

This paper reports on a design based research project that developed high tech, low-cost computational thinking projects in after school maker programs. The project centers design on working-class community educators as experts in the design of culturally relevant making projects that support computational practices across digital and physical environments. The focus for this paper centers on the professional development workshop where educators, artists, computer scientists, and learning scientists collaborated to develop new projects and pedagogies to expand how young people think with digital tools over time and with the support of educators. We ask: how do artists, educators, computer scientists, and researchers work together to develop projects that draw out computational practices while deepening cultural practices over time? 


Authors

• Molly Victoria Shea, San Francisco State University

• A. Susan Jurow, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Meg Elena Escudé, Exploratorium