“I like computers. I hate coding”: a portrait of two teens’ experiences
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-05-2018-0037 |
| Date | 13 May 2019 |
| Published date | 13 May 2019 |
| Pages | 349-365 |
| Author | Paulina Haduong |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
“I like computers. I hate coding”:a
portrait of two teens’experiences
Paulina Haduong
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Some empirical evidence suggests that historically marginalized young people may enter
introductory programmingexperiences with skepticism or reluctance, because of negative perceptions of the
computing field. This paperaims to explore how learner identity and motivation can affect their experiences
in an introductory computer science (CS) experience, particularly for young people who have some prior
experiencewith computing. In this program, learners wereasked to develop digital media artifacts aboutcivic
issues usingScratch, a block-based programming language.
Design/methodology/approach –Through participant observation as a teacher and designer of the
course, artifact analysis of student-generated computer programs and design journals, as well as with two
follow-up 1-h interviews,the author used the qualitative method of portraiture to examine how two reluctant
learnersexperienced a six-week introductory CS program.
Findings –These learners’experiencesilluminate the ways in which identity, community and competence
can play a rolein supporting learner motivation in CS educationexperiences.
Research limitations/implications –As more students have multiple introductory computing
encounters,educators need to take into account not only theirperceptions of the computing field more broadly
but also specific prior encounterswith programming. Because of the chosen research approach, the research
resultsmay lack generalizability. Researchers are encouragedto explore other contexts and examples further.
Practical implications –This portrait highlights the need for researchers and educators to take into
accountstudent motivation in the design of learning environments.
Originality/value –This portrait offers a novel examination of noviceprogrammer experiences through
the choice in method,as well as new examples of how learner identity can affect student motivation.
Keywords Computer science, Portraiture, Scratch, Women in STEM
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
For many young people, particularly from historically marginalized populations, evidence
persists of both a civic empowerment gap (Levinson, 2012) and a digital divide (Ito et al.,
2013). Much of the intriguing youth participatory action research, aimed at addressing the
civic empowerment gap,exists successfully in informal education and can be in tension with
formal contexts (Rubin et al.,2017), but informal computing education has been
demonstrated to be even more biased in favor of wealthier and male students (Guzdial,
2015). Although the history of computer science (CS) education in US K-12 is fairly
extensive, in the past decade, coding has experienced a resurgence. However, learning to
code has often been framed around vocational opportunities (Blikstein, 2018). Although
youth are often self-motivated in informal contexts, marginalized youth in formal
The author wishes to thank Karen Brennan, Meredith Rowe, Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot and Gretchen
Brion-Meisels for their guidance in developing this article, as well as the young people of C3P for
their generosity and time. This work would not have been possible without close collaboration with
Raquel Jimenez.
Portrait of two
teens’
experiences
349
Received13 May 2018
Revised14 December 2018
Accepted3 January 2019
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.120 No. 5/6, 2019
pp. 349-365
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-05-2018-0037
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
classrooms may be initially reluctant or skeptical about learning to code, but because our
society is highly reliant on technology,computational fluency is becoming essential for civic
participation. Through the qualitative method of portraiture, this article focuses on the
experiences of two reluctant learners in a six-week summer program aimed at developing
students’civiccapacity as well as computational fluency.
Background
Traditional CS education has largely focused on teaching students conceptual knowledge
(mastering variables, loops and more) (Soloway and Spohrer, 1989). Because this concept
mastery is challenging and introductory CS course failure rates are high worldwide
(Watson and Li, 2014), researchers have been preoccupied with questions of how to more
effectively teach these computational concepts. Lack of success in CS has been tied to not
only challenging content but also broader issues of diversity and inequity, and there
exists a growing body of research empirically examining these systemic challenges, in
both formal and informal contexts (Vakil, 2018;Margolis et al., 2015;Goode, 2008;
Cheryan et al.,2015).
However, a focus on computational concepts ignores what young people might do with
their mastery. In a digitally networked society, there is a need to ask what students might
express, build and communicate about their experiences and desires to shape the world,
particularly as the links between technologyand power become increasingly stronger. If CS
is framed with more attention to equity (Vakil, 2018), then educators and learners are asked
to also attend to issues of power,ethics and “technological solutionism”(Morozov,2013).
Critical computationalliteracy:
[...] provides a way to create and theorize conditions for the potent learning that can take place at
the intersection of engineering and computational thinking on the one hand, and narrative
production and critical pedagogy on the other (Lee and Soep, 2016, p. 481).
Like many other forms of youth-driven research and action, this kind of work is often long-
term and intensive, existing in informal contexts because of the constraints of K-12 formal
education. But participatory action work can be transformative for how young people
understand their own capacity to be change actors, and the challenges of authentic
implementationare worth pursuing, because:
[...] students are required to be in school; while imperfect, classrooms are places where
students who might not otherwise have the opportunity can participate in a learning experience
which foregrounds their experiences and perspectives and values their agency (Rubin et al.,
2017,p.190).
This question of agency underscores the important role of intrinsic motivation in learning.
From self-determinationtheory and a growing body of motivational research, it is clear that
the prevalence of competence, autonomy and relatedness supports can help explicate how
and when learners succeed (Deci et al.,1991;Ryan and Deci, 2000). When learners have high
intrinsic motivation, their higher interest and confidence can manifest in persistence and
creativity (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Though critical computational literacy can be
transformative and could address both the civic education and the CS education gaps, if
learner motivation is low from the beginning (which it may well be for historically
marginalized youth), it may be challenging for learners to realize their potential. And while
there are many challenges to supporting learner agency in formal schooling (e.g. state
standards, assessmentsand lack of funding), the connected learning framework, as well as a
large body of related literature, points to informal learning contexts –both online (e.g. fan
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