Computational thinking (CT) is central to computer science, yet there is a gap in the literature on how CT emerges and develops in early childhood especially for children from historically marginalized communities. Yet, lack of access to computational materials and effective instruction can create inequities that have lasting effects on young children (Chaudry, et al., 2017). To alleviate the pervasiveness of such inequities and remedy the “pedagogical dominance of Whiteness” (Baines et al., 2018, p. 10), asset-based computer science CS pedagogies and culturally relevant approaches are needed (Madkins et al., 2019). Understanding how teachers provide asset-based, culturally responsive opportunities for CT in early childhood classrooms remains largely unknown. The purpose of this paper is to share a subset of findings from a qualitative, ethnographic study that explored the ways in which early childhood teachers (ECT) learned and implemented CT using asset-based pedagogies. The research question addressed is: In what ways do ECT use asset-based pedagogies while implementing CT in their classrooms?
Assaf, L.C. & Justice, S. (2024, April 12). Early childhood teachers’ use of asset-based computational thinking pedagogy: Centering students’ expertise and life experiences. [Conference session]. American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States. http://bit.ly/4mft8kA