Supporting Teachers to Integrate Computational Thinking Equitably

Abstract

Broadening participation and increasing equity in computer science (CS) have been goals of the computing field for decades. Initiatives seeking to increase access to CS have led to an increase in elementary schools teaching computational thinking (CT), but students are often instructed by classroom teachers who have no formal training in CT or CS. Our project prepares in-service and pre-service elementary teachers to integrate CT into their science lessons. While our overall goal was to increase CT access for all students, we found some teachers enacted CT in ways that did not always provide equal access to all students. Although our professional development adopted a CS for All approach, without explicit supports, a group of teachers implemented CT in ways often upholding the current trends of inequity and power structures within CS. Our findings suggest teachers would benefit from explicit support to provide opportunities for students currently underrepresented in CS and to offer more equitable opportunities to students regardless of their CS background.