“We Felt Valued": Teacher Experiences as Co-Designers of a High School Introductory Computing Program (Poster 6)

• In Event: Expansive Framings of “Capacity Building” in Computing Education: Agency, Infrastructuring, and Advocacy

Abstract

Purpose
This poster presents findings from analyzing teacher co-design sessions towards revising a high school introductory computing curriculum.

Theoretical framework
Most design and research efforts in the form of teacher preparation programs, curricular interventions, or professional development sessions focus on supporting teachers with concepts, resources, and learning opportunities. However, missing from this emphasis is a more expansive recognition of the expertise of experienced teachers and the opportunity both to draw on that expertise and further engage teachers in deeper learning by partnering with teachers to develop learning resources, from curriculum to policy.

In this study we drew on co-design principles (DiSalvo et al., 2017; Severance et al., 2016), to help revise the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) year-long curriculum and professional development program (Goode, Chapman, & Margolis, 2012). We build on an expansive lens in collaborating with 12 experienced ECS teachers to build both the capacity of the ECS program (especially in regard to equity) and the capacity of teachers' roles in not just teaching the curriculum but critically considering and revising it.

Working with teachers over eight co-design sessions and drawing on post-interview reflections, we answer: 1.) How did the teachers experience the different designed aspects of the co-design sessions? And, 2.) What did the different aspects mean to teacher participation in these sessions?

Methods and Data Sources
We analyzed post-interviews (~45 min each) of twelve participating experienced high school computing teachers from across the U.S. with 5+ years of ECS teaching experience. The eight, 90-minute co-design sessions (from October 2022 to May 2023) focused on social justice issues and their connections to computing. Interviews captured teachers’ experiences of participating in the co-design sessions and their feedback on the different aspects. Interview transcripts were analyzed for themes in response to the research questions (Miles & Huberman, 1994). We observed Small and Calarco’s (2022) guidelines for rigorous qualitative work: extended exposure, cognitive empathy with the participants, heterogeneity, palpability, follow-up, and self-awareness; more details to be shared in the poster.

Results
Overall, teachers’ reflections demonstrated eagerness to participate at this level of curricular critique and design: teachers felt valued, recognized, and “honored” from the open invitation to participate in the co-design sessions. Further, all teachers engaged appreciatively in the pre-work assigned for every session, stating that it provided resources for them to better engage in discussions during sessions. They particularly appreciated the flexibility that multimodal nature of the pre-work materials (e.g., audio files, videos, short texts) provided, allowing them to work within their other responsibilities. They conveyed an enjoyment of learning, highlighting synthesis activities that provided a shared space to reflect and share resources while contributing to the co-design sessions. Overall, teachers felt that they were treated as “equals” throughout the design process.

Significance
Findings about the design of the co-design sessions can inform similar future efforts where design teams partner with teachers to inform curricular interventions, engaging them in more expansive roles as knowledgeable and agentic partners informing curricular design and implementation and building their capacity as educators and learners.

Authors

• Gayithri Jayathirtha, University of Oregon

• Gail Chapman, University of California - Los Angeles

• Joanna Goode, University of Oregon