Exploring Expansive Learning at the Intersections of Sports, Technology, and Race

• In Event: Inclusion in Computer Science Education: Documenting, Designing, and Supporting Transformative Learning in Computer Science Classrooms

Abstract

Under current educational and societal structures, the ways that people should “do” and learn computer science often fall into rigid categories that leave little room for expansive ways of knowing (Bang & Medin, 2010; Harel & Papert, 1991; Philip & Azevedo, 2017). Frequently, models of K-12 computer science education involve individualistic learning activities (Lewis et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2017), rely on direct instruction (Adams & Engelmann, 1996; Newell et al., 1967), and involve decontextualized and esoteric assignments (Webb et al., 2012). This style of education is misaligned with the more collaborative and creative ways that computer science is used in practice (Papert & Resnick, 1995; Authors, 2007; Resnick, 2002). Data in Motion, now SportsSense, is a program that democratizes applications for computing by inviting youth to investigate relationships between computing and their athletic goals. We posit that, with adequate pedagogical support, computing can be a tool that youth use to investigate what they know now and what they want to know in the future.
SportsSense is an expansive computer science learning curriculum that acts as a model for future work aimed at fostering bi-directional learning between sports and computing. In this session we explore the first iterations of our curriculum and design working with youth at the intersections of sports, technology, race, and learning. We present qualitative and quantitative data to illustrate a picture of the experiences youth had with building, experimenting with, critiquing, and at times destroying wearable technologies. We detail how relationship building and designing wearable technologies in a practice-linked environment constitute effective ways to engage youth in personally-meaningful and engaging computing experiences. We implemented Sports Sense (Data in Motion) as a five-day summer camp with 33 participants, grades 2–6. We observed the ways that the experience changes students’ perceptions of the connection between sports and technology through pre-, during, and post- surveys. We also detail a students qualitative experience of the program as well as provide artifact analyses that show how the curriculum shaped or was a base point for their imagined and prototyped sports wearables. Across the pool of participants, we saw significant changes in the ways that students conceptualized the connection between technology and athletic performance. We also saw students who are not interested in sports demonstrate high engagement in the experience.
Additionally we discuss the work that we’ve built since 2020 (Authors et. al 2020) where we’ve refined the curriculum to provide more opportunities for critique of technology and exploration of questions around topics such as race, (dis)ability, gender, and data security. We share how we treat SportsSense as a flexible model that can and should be customized to the specific needs of each group, school, or out of school organization and age range and how we’ve adapted virtually within the pandemic. Practice-linked learning, specifically in the context of sports and technology, is a generative space for students to authentically explore interests in both disciplines. Researchers and practitioners should consider this intersection as a potential space to broaden modes of participation in computer science.

Authors

• Stephanie T. Jones, Northwestern University

• Marcelo A.B. Worsley, Northwestern University

• Jacoya Thompson, Northwestern University