Abstract

Black high school (HS) boys are an untapped source for initiatives in broadening participation in computer science (CS). This article describes a five week program that employs active and problem-based learning activities to teach tech innovation and entrepreneurship to local teens in the Washington, DC, USA area. Called #WatchMeCode, the program's objective is to build black HS boys’ confidence in coding, communicating their programming skills, and rebuilding their thoughts about computer science. The program uses a constructivist pedagogical approach allowing students to build their understanding of computer science and technology through Internet-search-based history lessons, podcasts, and presentations by other black male tech entrepreneurs. Additionally, students ventured out into their community with hands-on design-thinking and customer discovery skills to observe their environment, its issues/problems, and developed new technology with their unique perspectives in mind. Results showed that participants became interested and confident in computer science by creating their own tech innovations.

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