Date of Award
Fall 2024
Language
English
Embargo Period
12-16-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Education Theory and Practice
Program
Curriculum and Instruction
First Advisor
Dr. Lijun Ni
Second Advisor
Dr. Jianwei Zhang
Third Advisor
Dr. Reza Feyzi-Behnagh
Keywords
culturally responsive pedagogy, computer science education, conceptual change theory, middle school teacher
Subject Categories
Curriculum and Instruction | Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching | Other Education
Abstract
Culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) is an effective way to foster equitable and meaningful computer science (CS) learning experience for historically marginalized students. This dissertation study employed longitudinal data to investigate five middle school teachers’ development of CRP understandings and enactments over many years participating in the CS Pathways Research Practitioner Partnership (RPP) project. Grounded in conceptual change theory (knowledge-in-pieces perspective), the study explored the five teachers’ CRP conceptual change trajectories as indicated by their definitions and enactments of the pedagogy over time. From the epistemological perspective, the findings presented how teachers reflected, refined, and revised their naïve knowledge of CRP into potentially expert-like CRP knowledge to teach CS under their context-dependent environment. In addition, the study examined teachers’ perceptions of the project’s various support to their CRP conceptual development. The results documented each teacher’s knowledge growth trajectory and implementation pathways of CRP to teach CS. As teachers progressed through the program, they all developed awareness of racial disparities within CS education. Furthermore, some teachers exhibited deficit model of beliefs indicating the socio-economic impacts on students’ CS learning. However, their expanded awareness did not correspond to any direct curriculum enactment changes. The study also concluded that teachers perceived the project professional development support as a positive impact on their knowledge growth and classroom implementation. This dissertation study provided empirical evidence and understanding on how teachers’ equity-focused pedagogical knowledge developed. It can inform the design of future professional learning programs to enhance teachers’ understanding and practices of CRP to teach CS.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Bausch, Xintong, "Equipping Middle School Teachers With Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Teaching Computer Science Through Professional Learning: A Longitudinal Case Study" (2024). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 95.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/95
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Other Education Commons
