Student-Centered Computing: Teacher Experiences in a New Introductory Computer Science Curriculum

Abstract

Objectives. The goal of this paper is to introduce and describe a new introductory computer science course. Research results from the implementation of this curriculum will be presented to demonstrate the nature of teachers’ experiences with the curriculum. Participants. Participants are teachers implementing the new curriculum at two schools in the metro Atlanta area. Study Method. This paper is partly descriptive, presenting the theory underlying the newly developed curriculum as well as its various features. An organizing framework, the Teacher Accessibility, Equity, and Content (TEC) rubric from Weintrop et al. (2019) [1], is used to structure the curriculum description. Teacher perceptions were gathered via both structured interviews and short online enactment surveys. These perceptions are summarized and presented thematically, corresponding to the features of the curriculum. Findings. A newly developed introductory computer science (CS) curriculum, Student-Centered Computing (SCC), utilizes project-based learning (PBL) and culturally authentic practices (CAPs) to help promote a sense of belonging and intent to persist within computer science among all students. Teachers successfully implemented the curriculum and generally found it to be beneficial for their students, though they struggled with some of the pedagogical demands of project-based learning as well as some of the most advanced technical content associated with the music coding and app development platforms. Conclusions. This paper provides a detailed overview of a year-long introductory computer science curriculum focused on the creation of culturally relevant digital artifacts. The curriculum represents a strong effort to make CS content relevant and appealing to the full range of students by relating it to their lives and experiences. Teacher surveys and interviews revealed that both teachers and students had positive views of the course. However, teaching using inclusive PBL pedagogy and culturally authentic practices takes skill and practice by teachers, supporting the need for CS teachers to have good pedagogical training as well as a strong knowledge of computer science to create a classroom environment that promotes success for all students.