2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Increasing Massachusetts Partnerships for Advancing Computational Thinking in PK-5 Classrooms (IMPACT) was a research-practice partnership among 5 school districts, researchers, and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (NSF funded; award #XXXX). The group co-developed and facilitated a 3-day professional development program, in which participating teachers experienced standards-aligned lessons that integrate computational thinking (CT) and culturally responsive pedagogy with other subjects. The IMPACT RPP developed a list of questions that help educators determine whether their lessons follow culturally responsive pedagogy and meet CT practices.

Does my lesson follow culturally responsive pedagogy?
1. In what ways is the context of the experience connected to your students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds?
2. In what ways are students encouraged to make connections to their home/community culture?
3. In what ways students see themselves represented in CT through this experience?
4. In what ways are students encouraged to express and communicate their knowledge and ideas using multiple modes and modalities (i.e. writing, drawing, speaking, etc…), including students’ home language?
5. In what ways are materials and tools developmentally appropriate, culturally accepted and easily available for all students?

Does my lesson meet computational thinking practices?
1. In what ways does the learning experience ask students to engage in Abstraction, i.e. removing unnecessary detail, and identifying common features?
2. In what ways does the learning experience ask students to engage in or identify Algorithms, i.e. sequential steps and rules, identifying and resolving bugs?
3. In what ways does the learning experience ask students to engage in manipulating, identifying, or processing Data, i.e. structured information?
4. In what ways does the learning experience ask students to engage in Programming and Development, i.e. creating software, implementing algorithms -- on the computer or off, iterating on design, debugging?
5. In what ways does the learning experience ask students to engage in Modeling and Simulation, i.e. observing, building, or analyzing representations of real world systems and processes?

For the ASEE curriculum exchange we will share a model PK-1 lesson created by the IMPACT team and tested in a PK classroom. In this computational thinking challenge, students program a robot to retell the story of Rosie’s Walk, a well-known picture book for young children.
In the story, Rosie the hen walks around the farmyard, avoiding obstacles that include a rake, pond and beehives. Careful readers will notice that Rosie is not alone on her journey. As the story unfolds, we see Fox lurking in the background. Will Fox catch Rosie or will Rosie make it home in time for dinner? The simple text introduces commonly used words that express directions—across, around, over, past, through and under. Programming a robot to recreate Rosie’s journey provides an opportunity to reinforce these key vocabulary words and teach important sequencing skills that are part of ELA, computer science, and engineering standards.

The integrated Rosie’s Walk challenge includes 4 lessons, as well as possible extension activities. Culturally responsive strategies are embedded in the lessons. First, students are encouraged to make connections to their homes and own experience before reading the book and when introducing robots. In the optional extension activity, creating a book about “Root the Robot’s Walk,” students are encouraged to communicate their ideas using multiple modalities: writing, drawing, recording audio, and/or recording video. Students are also encouraged to make connections to their culture by choosing a setting that speaks to them. Finally, the iRobot Coding tool offers a level that uses only picture blocks, making coding accessible to students of all language backgrounds.

The challenge is available as a google document, allowing interested educators to download and adapt it to their own context. It includes project overview, standards and practices, learning targets, vocabulary, materials needed, timeline, extension activities, and technology embedded.