Critical Computing Co-design: Developing and implementing lessons with K-12 computing teachers to integrate critical perspectives

• In Event: Can Education Stop Killer Robots? Exploring Values, Ethics, and Impacts in K12 Computer Science Instruction

Abstract

Background
K-12 computing curricula are overwhelmingly treated as career and technical education, focusing on certifications and coding skills. However, as access to computer science education expands and student demographics broaden, the share of students in CS classrooms who will focus on a computing career is decreasing. At the same time, the impact of technology on society is rapidly increasing, and there is a growing need for all students to develop computational literacy, not just programming skills.

Objective
This project aims to address the need for computational literacy by co-designing lessons with in-service K-12 computing teachers which integrate critical perspectives on computing in society.

Theoretical framework
Teacher participants were introduced to critical theorists and associated frameworks such as Paulo Freire's (1970) critical consciousness raising and Gloria Ladson-Billings' (1995) culturally-relevant pedagogy.

Methods
Teacher participants collaborated with each other and the researcher to co-design lesson plans for their classroom. Data were analyzed over several rounds of qualitative coding and subsequent thematic analysis. Additionally, a case study was written for each teacher, illustrating which themes were more present for each participant. Data was collected in the form of interviews at the beginning and end of the project, as well as transcripts of all of the professional learning and co-design sessions. Additionally, artifacts from the professional learning sessions, co-design sessions, and implementation were used to triangulate data analysis. The participants in this study represent a variety of different educational settings and disciplines, including: an elementary STEM teacher, a Catholic school social studies teacher, a well-resourced public high school teacher, a small school sign language teacher who teaches the only CS class, and a video game teacher at a trade school.

Results
The co-design process and implementation results illustrate several potential ways for critical perspectives to be integrated into K-12 computing education. The results are organized into themes addressing how the teachers integrated critical perspectives, how they engaged in co-design, and how they implemented the lessons. These themes also form the structure of the case study for each participant.

Significance
There is currently a dearth of research translating the theory of critical perspectives on computing in society into practice for K-12 computing educators (Hu & Yadav, 2023). This study provides an empirical record of how a diverse group of K-12 computing teachers actively engaged in co-designing lessons that integrated these perspectives and implemented such lessons into their classrooms. The results are useful both for academics and K-12 educators who are seeking to meaningfully challenge their students to broaden their perspective on computing and critically analyze its role in society.

Author

• Anne Drew Hu, Michigan State University