Search

Educators make consequential curricular decisions, often with little support, particularly as it relates to equity and how to support all students. This paper investigates the use of a rubric to support educators evaluating computer science curricula, especially with regards to equity. Seventeen in-service elementary teachers evaluated a computer science curriculum with and without the Teacher Accessibility, Equity, and Content (TEC) Rubric. We examine teachers' responses to prompts and completed TEC Rubrics to understand if and how the rubric supported their evaluations. The TEC Rubric helped teachers attend not only to curricular factors related to instructional design but also to issues of equity and accessibility and to identify opportunities to draw on the cultural resources of students and their communities. We contribute evidence supporting curricular evaluation instruments, specifically the TEC Rubric, and their use to direct teachers' attention to attributes of equitable computing instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Context: Though computer science education is marked by a pronounced racial participation gap, there is little research about effective ways that teachers can be supported in creating racially-just and equitable computer science learning opportunities for students. Objectives: This paper examines how teachers engage in learning about race and equity in computer science education during professional development. Method: Drawing from data collected from 94 participants attending a summer week-long Exploring Computer Science workshop, this mixed-methods study revealed how key curricular and instructional features of professional development foster race-conscious discussions and shifts in beliefs and agency around broadening participation in computing. Findings: Given the importance of developing teacher capacity to increase opportunities for students of color in computing classrooms, the findings of this study highlight how intentionally integrating race education in the center of professional development for teachers can support teachers' equity-based beliefs and practices. Implications: Professional development for teachers that seeks to broaden participation in computing is supported by long-term professional learning that explicitly center issues of race and equity in the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]