Computational Thinking in Elementary School Libraries

• In Event: Computational Thinking, Languages, and Literacies

Abstract

Purpose: This paper will discuss how elementary school librarians were inspired by e-textiles and paper circuit activities to design hands-on lessons and integrate computational thinking into 3rd-5th grade library lessons.

Theoretical Framework: Previous scholarship has shown the potential for computational thinking to support literacy development (Author et al., 2020) and that making activities encourage collaboration and promote students’ multiple knowledges in service of equity (Blikstein, 2013; Author et al., 2018). Computational thinking itself has also been conceptualized as a literacy (Author et al., 2018). Public libraries are essential in bringing computational thinking to all due to their adaptability and role as technology centers in communities (Weintrop et al., 2021). While school libraries fill a similar role within school structures, their potential for fostering computational thinking and literacy is understudied.

Methods: This study is part of a research-practice partnership that iteratively tests strategies for integrating linguistically and culturally equitable computational thinking into K-8 core curriculum. The school district serves approximately 7,000 students, 21% of whom are designated as English Learners. Additionally, 39% of the students are Latinx and 36% come from low-income families. One of the avenues for implementation of equitable computational thinking is through the school libraries. All librarians from the elementary schools participated in multiple computational thinking professional learning workshops and collaborated across sites to design and implement unplugged computational thinking activities. Our research question is: How do elementary school librarians begin to conceptualize and design integrated computational thinking activities? The data analyzed for this paper center on an e-textiles project created by the librarians for 3rd-5th grade students. Using LEDs, batteries, and conductive thread, the students decorated cloth face masks to wear at school during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data Sources: Data sources included email exchanges planning the activity, video recordings, and interviews with librarians.

Findings: Through designing the lesson, the librarians expanded their own computational literacies and conceptualizations of how computational thinking fit within their curriculum. For example, to bridge computational thinking and traditional library curriculum, the librarians paired books with the activity (e.g., a book about fabric arts for introducing sewing). However, when implementing the lesson the librarians observed how the students, in particular their multilingual learners, thrived as they collaboratively solved problems and created their masks. Noticing how students had multiple opportunities to be successful and use their own literacy practices in service of completing a computational thinking activity gave the librarians more ideas for using hands-on computational thinking activities in their curriculum.

Scholarly Significance: This study contributes to research examining opportunities for equitable computational thinking integration in elementary school. School librarians are a largely untapped resource for developing a computational literacy curriculum as they have a deep understanding of literacy and have flexibility in how they cover their content standards. The data presented provide an example of how a group of elementary school librarians approached the design and implementation of a computational thinking activity and suggest further research directions to explore how computational thinking may find a home in school libraries.

Author

• Rose K. Pozos, Stanford University