Incorporating the Social, Cultural, and Emotional Dimensions of Student Learning to Develop STEM-Identities in Computer Science

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Equity and Identity in Computer Science (Table 13)

Abstract

Through qualitative inquiry of a 9th-grade computer science (CS) classroom, this paper examines how teachers' pedagogical approaches can help prioritize the social and emotional dimensions of student learning to foster STEM identity and development. Findings from an ethnographic study of the delivery of the Exploring Computer Science curriculum in a setting of majority of low-income students of color identify five high-leverage instructional strategies: 1) teacher mindsets towards specific subject areas like computer science; 2) creating conditions for affirming students culturally; 3) intentionally prioritizing student autonomy for social and emotional development; 4) co-constructing knowledge to increase student engagement; and 5) helping students create their own STEM identity by exposing them to STEM professionals of similar racial and cultural characteristics as students.

Authors

• Stanley L. Johnson, University of California - Los Angeles

• Joseph P. Bishop, University of California - Los Angeles