In this manuscript, we describe a coding club we created and implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were purposeful in creating the club to: (a) focus on design and problem solving as the basis for learning computer coding and (b) include elements to improve the engagement of girls. We ran multiple iterations of a Girls Design with Code Club…

With the Maker movement increasingly adopted across K-12 schools and non-formal makerspaces, students are being given more opportunities to engage in Making activities using tools such as robots, electronics, arts, and crafts. Making activities are thought to help students develop twenty-first-century skills, especially communication and…

National and state science learning standards urge K-12 educators to offer authentic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics learning experiences. One way to fulfill this goal is to prepare preservice science teachers to integrate computer science skills, such as coding, into science education learning contexts that can benefit from it.…

A majority of research in Computational Thinking (CT) mainly focuses on teaching coding to school students. However, CT involves more than just coding and includes other skills like algorithmic thinking. The current study developed an Online Inquiry-based Learning Platform for Computational Thinking (CT-ONLINQ) that follows Inquiry-Based Learning…

Aiming to promote equity in computing, this study proposes an educational model that offers an alternative approach to inspire K-12 students to become interested in CS and develop their computational thinking (CT) skills. It also examines the experience of marginalized students during the COVID pandemic in a learning environment grounded in the…

With a growing number of ScratchJr usage, over 19 million users worldwide, we examined the use in the United States of the free ScratchJr programming language, explicitly designed for young children ages 5-7, to learn how to code. Our objective was to explore children's usage of the ScratchJr tablet app at home and school settings. We analyzed…