Developing student interest is critical to supporting student learning in computer science. Research indicates that student interest is a key predictor of persistence and achievement. While there is a growing body of work on developing computing identities for diverse students, little research focuses on early exposure to develop multilingual…

While increasing emphasis has been placed on computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) little is known about these topics in elementary classrooms. Significant equity gaps exist within CS/CT at the elementary level, with a major contributor being the lack of highly qualified CS/CT elementary teachers. Professional development (PD) for…

Computational thinking (CT) plays a vital role in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, whether students' learning attitude towards STEM is related to their CT skills remains unknown. Two studies were conducted to address this knowledge gap. In Study 1, we validated a newly developed STEM learning attitude…

In an increasingly digital world, the elementary school students of today who learn to program will be positioned to re-imagine and build the future. As educators, it is essential to consider how such an important skill is made accessible for a diverse range of students, including those diagnosed with learning disabilities. In this article, the…

Current policy efforts that seek to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) emphasize the importance of helping all students acquire concepts and tools from computer science that help them analyze and develop solutions to everyday problems. These goals have been generally described in the literature under the…

There is a growing need for STEAM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) knowledge and skills across a wide range of professions (Brazell 2013). Yet students often fail to see the usefulness of mathematics beyond the classroom (Kloosterman, Raymond, and Emenaker 1996), and they do not regularly make connections between…