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Article
When is an Owl More Than an Owl? An Interaction Analysis of a Computer Science Co-design Conversation on Cultural Relevance
International Society of the Learning Sciences
  • Stephanie M. Robillard, Stanford University
  • Victor R. Lee, Stanford University
  • Jody Clarke-Midura, Utah State University
  • Jessica F. Shumway, Utah State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2023
Award Number
NSF, Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) 2031382 and 2031404
Award Title
Collaborative Research: Supporting Rural Paraprofessional Educators and their Students with Computer Science Professional Learning and Expansively Framed Curriculum
Funding Agency

National Science Foundation, Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)

Disciplines
Abstract

The learning sciences community is currently exploring new ways to enact productive and equitable co-design research-practice partnerships that are sensitive to all the concerns and needs of stakeholders. The paper contributes to that still-growing literature through an interaction analysis of a co-design discussion involving school district partners that unfolded about cultural relevance and sensitivity in relation to the use of a specific image in an elementary school coding lesson. The episode involved looking moment-by-moment at how district educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a minoritized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design.

Citation Information
Robillard, S. M., Lee, V. R., Clarke-Midura, J., & Shumway, J. (2023, June). When is an Owl More than an Owl? An Interaction Analysis of a Computer Science Co-design Conversation on Cultural Relevance. Paper presented at Building knowledge and sustaining our community: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Montreal QC Canada. International Society of the Learning Sciences.