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Why are some students "not into" computational thinking activities embedded within high school science units? Key takeaways from a microethnographic discourse analysis study.

Authors :
Aslan, Umit
Horn, Michael
Wilensky, Uri
Source :
Science Education. May2024, Vol. 108 Issue 3, p929-956. 28p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Science educators are integrating more and more computational thinking (CT) activities into their curricula. Proponents of CT offer two motivations: familiarizing students with a realistic depiction of the computational nature of modern scientific practices and encouraging more students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, some studies show that increasing exposure to computing may not necessarily translate to the hypothesized gains in participation by female students and students of color. Therefore, paying close attention to students' engagement in computationally intense science activities is important to finding more impactful ways to promote equitable science education. In this paper, we present an inā€depth analysis of the interactions among a small, racially diverse group of high school students during a chemistry unit with tightly integrated CT activities. We find a salient interaction between the students' engagement with the CT activities and their social identification with publicly recognizable categories such as "enjoys coding" or "finds computing boring." We show that CT activities in science education can lead to numerous rich interactions that could, if leveraged correctly, allow educators to facilitate more inclusive science classrooms. However, we also show that such opportunities would be missed unless teachers are attentive to them. We discuss the implications of our findings on future work to integrate CT across science curricula and teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00368326
Volume :
108
Issue :
3
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Science Education
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
176409766
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21850