Teachers’ Perspectives on the Assets Students Bring to Learning Computational Thinking and Community-Based Environmental Literacy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Teaching for Justice: Centering Identity, Voice, and Real-World Relevance in Diverse Classrooms

Abstract

This case study examines how elementary teachers perceive the knowledge and skills that Latine students bring to a curriculum integrating computational thinking and community-based environmental literacy. Drawing on Funds of Knowledge and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, we analyzed interviews and co-design meetings with eight teachers in a research-practice partnership. Findings highlight how teachers recognize students’ cultural and familial knowledge, everyday experiences, and emerging leadership as valuable assets, and describe how students used coding as a tool to address environmental concerns. We contribute to the literature on culturally sustaining computing by demonstrating how community knowledge can be leveraged in interdisciplinary STEM learning. Results emphasize the importance of teacher perspectives in designing inclusive, engaging computing environments that empower students.

Authors

• Clare Baek, University of Hawaii - Manoa

• Victoria Nguyen, University of California - Irvine

• Symone Gyles, University of California - Irvine

• Kate Montes-Perales, University of California - Irvine

• Mark Warschauer, University of California - Irvine