Each episode of the #CSK8 Podcast explores research, experiences, or perspectives on computer science education through interviews with computer science educators, scholars, and administrators, as well as episodes that summarize and unpack implications of research for classroom teachers who are interested in learning more about practical applications of research in their classroom.
In this episode I provide a framework for how districts and educators can get started with computer science education for free.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:22 The problem I hope to address in this episode03:52 Brief summary of why I'm qualified to address this problem04:45 Why am I giving this content away for free?06:18 You can do this06:56 Step 1: Setting a vision10:10 Step 2: Develop a plan14:48 Step 3: Reverse engineer CS education21:53 Step 4: Teach CS23:57 Step 5: Reflect, refine, and share27:01 Thanks for listening and sharing with others!
1/9/24 • 27:54
In this episode I unpack my dissertation, which explores the intersections of videogames, music, and computer science education.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Problems with "integration"01:29 Themes01:47 Quick overview of chapters 1-304:37 Chapter 404:51 Composition practices05:26 Performance practices06:01 Maker practices09:04 Coding practices12:22 Chapter 5: Multidisciplinarity13:46 Chapter 6: Implications20:17 Thanks for listening!
1/8/24 • 22:17
In this episode I introduce approaches to using Scratch for project-based learning, including backwards, inquiry-based, and emergent project designs. Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:22 What is project-based learning?01:15 Project continuum03:31 Project prompts04:23 Storyboard questions05:07 Steps for creating a project06:46 Three more frameworks for project-based learning07:01 Backward design projects08:25 Inquiry-based projects09:36 Emergent projects10:33 If using a sequential curriculum...11:28 A point of clarification11:51 Scratch resources to explore12:59 Podcasts to learn more13:44 Rhizomatic project-based learning14:29 Outro
11/13/23 • 14:39
In this episode I describe considerations for facilitating multiple programming languages in one space.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro01:49 What my classes looked like09:04 Start small and gradually expand10:08 Selecting a language or platform11:42 Implementation suggestions12:49 Supporting students13:38 Room setups14:41 Questions to ask when facilitating16:03 A tool to help administrators17:08 What this approach is informed by17:22 If this approach is overwhelming to you...18:19 Outro
10/23/23 • 18:55
Building off the previous episode on depression, suicide, and CS education, this episode is a supercut of guests responding to how they take care of themselves and stave off burnout. If you have not done so yet, I highly recommend listening to part 1, part 2, and part 3 to hear perspectives from other guests.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 Intro00:35 154 Decolonizing Education through SEL and PBL with Matinga Ragatz02:43 156 See, What Had Happened with Andre Daughty09:18 165 Intersections of Equity, Making, and Computer Science with Roxana Hadad18:24 173 Empathetic Listening in Computer Science with Josh Sheldon19:38 189 Computational Literacies with Michael Horn22:25 More resources around burnout22:47 Outro
9/18/23 • 23:00
Note: If you or anyone you know are experiencing signs of depression or suicidal ideation, please reach out to local healthcare professionals or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255In honor of national suicide prevention week, in this week’s episode replay I read a paper I wrote on the topic of depression, suicide, and computer science education. This paper is formatted into the following sections: 1) A vignette on my own experiences coping with depression and suicide; 2) Statistics on depression and suicide as it relates to various populations computer science educators work with; 3) A vignette of a computer science educator helping a student through depression and suicidal thoughts; 4) Risk factors and warning signs; 5) Suggestions for providing support; 6) A vignette from a computer science educator's perspective on a student who committed suicide; and 7) Closing thoughts.Click here for this episode’s show notes.Learn more about National Suicide Prevention Month/Week/Day.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 0:00 Intro4:38 Vignette 1: Jared10:45 Statistics on suicide17:44 Statics on depression20:30 Vignette 2: Chris and Elliott28:14 Risk factors and warning signs32:28 Suggestions for providing support37:04 Vignette 3: Alex and Sam40:55 Closing thoughts
9/11/23 • 45:51
In this episode I unpack the impact of an apprenticeship of observation and what computer science educators can do about it.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 What is the apprenticeship of observation?00:46 Why apprenticeship of observation is important for educators to know about02:23 The problems that arise from the apprenticeship of observation06:49 What can educators do about the apprenticeship of observation?16:35 We need to teach not just our students, but society as a whole
9/4/23 • 18:37
In this episode I unpack Loehr and Schwartz’s (2001) publication titled “The making of a corporate athlete",” which provides some suggestions relevant to educators interested in performing at their best by focusing on rest and recovery.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro01:07 The high-performance pyramid02:00 Ideal performance state04:55 Physical capacity09:05 Emotional capacity12:32 Mental capacity16:46 Spiritual capacity (it's not what you think)19:15 Outro
8/28/23 • 20:06
In the 200th episode of the #CSK8 Podcast I want to take a moment to thank everyone for listening over the years and to share some thoughts around the content I’m creating and the future of this podcast.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Thank you for listening!00:47 Some changes I've made01:57 What are your thoughts on the changes?03:05 My plans for future content06:00 Let me know what you think06:10 Again, thank you! I appreciate you!
8/21/23 • 06:41
In this episode I discuss an approach I’ve used for encouraging critical thinking and dialogue through individualized feedback and group discussion.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 How do you encourage critical thinking and dialogue with the classes you work with?00:53 An example of what this might look like01:17 What the feedback looked like01:57 Opening up individualized feedback for group discussion02:54 A pebble in their shoe03:15 What are your thoughts?03:26 Answering a question about room setups06:44 Outro
8/14/23 • 07:10
In this episode I unpack Kumar and Worsley’s (2023) publication titled “Scratch for sports: Athletic drills as a platform for experiencing, understanding, and developing AI-driven apps,” which summarizes explorations of the intersections of computer science and physical education.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Abstract01:33 My single sentence summary01:52 Paper introduction02:33 Related work03:21 Video Sensing: HomeCourt + Scratch05:53 Wearables: Smartwatches + Micro:bits07:35 Ball Sensors: Play Impossible & SIQ + Micro:bits08:32 Discussion and Future Work08:53 Lingering questions and thoughts08:58 How do we incorporate physical computing in an individualized or rhizomatic way?10:07 When do you use physical computing in your classroom?12:10 Outro
8/7/23 • 12:21
In this episode I unpack Obermüller, Greifenstein, and Fraser’s (2023) publication titled “Effects of automated feedback in Scratch programming tutorials,” which investigates the impact of two different types of hint generating approaches among two different classes.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:44 Abstract01:54 My single sentence summary02:02 1 Introduction02:42 2 Background03:25 3 Interactive tutorial system for Scratch03:47 4 Experimental setup06:14 RQ1: How do next-step hints influence08:50 RQ2: How do next-step hints influence11:42 RQ3: How do next-step hints influence help12:29 RQ4: How do next-step hints influence13:15 My lingering questions and thoughts13:22 What kind of projects can students create with such a tool?16:56 How do you teach students to provide feedback to peers when other forms of feedback are unavailable?20:18 As teaching, assessment, feedback, etc. becomes more automated, how will this impact teaching and learning?21:38 Outro
7/31/23 • 22:11
In this episode I talk about political and corporate influences that we need to talk about as a field.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 We need to talk about this01:56 So what does this mean for computer science education?03:23 Impact on computer science professional development and curricula05:47 It's not just politicians who are influencing computer science education06:38 Outro
7/24/23 • 07:23
In this episode I provide some suggestions for setting up your computer lab and talk about their impacts on teaching and learning computer science.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:04 Rows01:46 Stations/pods03:41 Racetrack05:36 Donut07:42 Questions to think through for setting up your room08:00 Outro
7/17/23 • 08:56
Instead of an episode today I have two quick requests: Check out CSTA’s conference going on this week and consider volunteering with CSTA.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:05 1st request00:41 2nd request01:19 Outro
7/10/23 • 01:25
In this episode I unpack Tobias, Campbell, and Greco’s (2015) publication titled “Bringing curriculum to life: Enacting project-based learning in music programs” to explore how computer science educators could incorporate project-based learning in their classroom.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:35 Abstract01:32 What is project-based learning?02:21 Vignettes03:02 The project continuum06:47 Designing project-based learning07:12 Worthy topics12:11 Real-life context15:22 Questions16:55 Critical thinking and dispositions17:55 Scope21:29 Designing the experience23:19 Challenges with PBL25:23 Assessment and evaluation25:40 Parting thoughts from the authors26:36 Lingering questions and thoughts26:44 Where along the project continuum do your projects tend to lie?28:21 How do projects afford certain types of engagement while constraining others?29:22 How might project-based learning differ in constructivist versus constructionist pedagogies?30:51 How comfortable are you with facilitating multiple projects simultaneously?32:11 Outro
7/3/23 • 32:56
In this episode I talk about how you can use Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process to encourage feedback and dialogue among students around the projects they create.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:39 The three roles of the Critical Response Process01:14 The four steps of the Critical Response Process01:28 Step 102:06 Step 202:36 Step 303:13 Step 404:15 Quick summary of the Critical Response Process04:37 Another approach for feedback and assessment05:33 Using questions for feedback and assessment05:55 The importance of modeling feedback06:41 What questions do you have?07:14 Please consider sharing
6/26/23 • 07:35
In this episode I provide a framework for how districts and educators can get started with computer science education for free.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:22 The problem I hope to address in this episode03:52 Brief summary of why I'm qualified to address this problem04:45 Why am I giving this content away for free?06:18 You can do this06:56 Step 1: Setting a vision10:10 Step 2: Develop a plan14:48 Step 3: Reverse engineer CS education21:53 Step 4: Teach CS23:57 Step 5: Reflect, refine, and share27:01 Thanks for listening and sharing with others!
6/19/23 • 27:54
In this episode I ask Bard and ChatGPT what the future of education looks like and probe these platforms to get a pulse on what computer science education looks like according to responses from large language models.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:41 1. What will teaching and learning look like ten years from now?07:10 - How is that different from today?09:32 2. What is the role of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning?17:26 3. Why are teachers leaving the field and what can be done to prevent that?27:40 How much should a public elementary school computer science educator be paid in Arizona with ten years of experience and a doctorate in education?29:21 - How much should a private elementary school educator be paid in Arizona with ten years of experience and a doctorate in education?30:39 5. What are the top five pedagogies for teaching computer science?33:04 - Elaborate on how each of the pedagogies you listed are beneficial for learning33:42 - What are the downsides for each of the pedagogies you listed?35:08 6. How could teachers make computer science classes more equitable?37:50 7. Why should all students learn computer science?40:36 - Should someone learn computer science if they are not going to be a professional computer scientist?43:09 - What prevents students from being interested in computer science?45:15 8. How can teachers learn how to teach computer science classes if they don't have a background in computer science?49:13 9. What is computational thinking and why is it being taught in schools?51:28 - List five examples of computational thinking52:22 10. Write me a lesson that teaches an elementary student how to create a short Scratch.mit.edu story57:41 - Write me a lesson that teaches an elementary student how to create a short Scratch.mit.edu story about algorithmic bias58:53 - Write me a lesson that teaches an elementary student how to create a short Scratch.mit.edu story about algorithmic bias while encouraging students to incorporate their own interests, needs, desires, etc. in the story01:00:25 11. Based on the kinds of questions I've already asked today, what questions should I ask you next?01:02:37 My thoughts on this exploration01:05:12 Outro
6/12/23 • 66:31
In this episode I unpack Olari, Tenório, and Romeike’s (2023) publication titled “Introducing artificial intelligence literacy in schools: A review of competence areas, pedagogical approaches, contexts and formats,” which is a review of literature exploring how researchers from 31 papers investigated AI-related literacies in schools.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:52 Abstract01:48 My one sentence summary02:35 Paper introduction03:09 Artificial intelligence literacy in school education04:08 Research questions04:25 Method05:09 Results: Competence areas07:08 Results: Pedagogical approaches10:46 Results: Contexts and formats12:45 Discussion16:12 Lingering questions and thoughts16:16 When teaching AI, what balance do you strive for between learning about AI and using AI as a tool for learning/creating?17:09 AI in education is an under explored area of potential professional development for educators18:14 Outro
6/5/23 • 19:20
In this interview with Michael Horn, we discuss computational literacies vs computational thinking, power in literacy, cultural imperialism, the impact of programming language on identity, the intersections of music and CS, and so much more.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━0:00 Intro00:33 An introduction by Michael01:10 Dual appointment?01:36 How Michael became interested in designing innovative learning experience03:17 What is computational literacy?10:43 Computational literacy and power14:48 Underground computational literacies18:53 Colonization in education21:55 Genres of computer science24:46 Learning higher vs lower level languages32:21 What is TunePad?37:10 How students and teachers might use TunePad37:52 Challenges with integrating CS in music classes39:58 Why arts educators are afraid of integrating48:11 How Michael iterates on his abilities51:55 How Michael prevents burnout54:42 What Michael wishes there was more research on59:45 Something listeners can help Michael with01:00:46 What I'm getting excited about01:02:32 Coding as performance art01:03:34 How to connect with Michael01:03:50 Outro
5/29/23 • 64:02
In this episode I unpack Kazemitabaar et al.’s (2023) publication titled “Studying the effect of AI code generators on supporting novice learners in introductory programming,” which found that students who had access to AI code generators while learning how to code out performed students who did not have access, even when engaging in manual coding exercises.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro01:14 Abstract02:18 My single sentence summary03:11 AI as distributed cognition04:31 Research questions05:15 Related work and the AI-assisted learning environment05:44 Design of this study06:56 Results: Training phase11:00 Results: Evaluation phase11:55 Results: Qualitative feedback13:34 Discussion15:01 AI and the use-modify-create framework17:41 What are some implications of this study?18:27 How do the findings for this study compare with studies on students using Stack Overflow?19:38 Outro
5/22/23 • 20:23
In this episode I unpack Khalil & Er’s (2023) publication titled “Will ChatGPT get you caught? Rethinking of plagiarism detection,” which explores how likely it is for plagiarism software to detect whether an essay was written by generative AI.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 Intro00:24 Abstract01:50 My single sentence summary02:38 Introduction and background03:04 Methodology03:40 Findings06:47 A discussion on plagiarism09:06 Recommendations for educators11:13 Advice for students11:36 Advice for institutions12:15 Lingering questions + thoughts12:23 How are you using (or planning on using) generative AI to help you teach or to help students learn?13:10 What concerns do you have about generative AI in education?13:42 Where is the line for you with plagiarism when using generative AI vs other sources (e.g., Stack Overflow) with programming?15:38 Plagiarism: Process vs product18:07 Learning more about AI and education18:40 Outro
5/15/23 • 19:05
In this episode I unpack Laurent et al.’s (2022) publication titled “Impact of programming on primary mathematics learning,” which describes a randomized control study that compared the impacts of learning mathematics with an integrated CS and mathematics class.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Introduction00:57 Abstract01:46 My single sentence summary02:27 A short introduction to my thoughts on integration03:36 Paper introduction08:04 Method08:46 Findings09:56 Explanation 1: Implementation11:21 Explanation 2: Time12:15 Explanation 3: Cognitive load14:29 Lingering questions + thoughts14:33 What approaches to integration do you think work better than others?14:46 If you were working with someone who wanted to integrated CS with another subject area, what advice would you give them?16:26 Outro
5/8/23 • 16:41
In this episode I unpack Bao & Hosseini’s (2023) publication titled “Mind the gap: The illusion of skill acquisition in computational thinking,” which compares learning, perceptions of learning, and confidence among adult learners participating in interactive, video-based, and text-based learning.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Introduction00:35 Abstract01:37 Single sentence summary02:30 Paper introduction02:54 Research questions04:27 1.1 Our controbutions04:51 2 Design and development05:06 3 Experimental design05:36 Results: Perception of learning08:58 Results: Actual learning comprehension09:16 Results: Interest in learning09:59 Results: Usability11:19 Results: Positive correlations11:52 Lingering questions and thoughts12:01 How do you know when a student understands something?14:40 How important is it to various stakeholders that students understand CS?17:30 How do you develop expertise over time?19:59 Outro
5/1/23 • 20:34
In this episode I unpack Shehzad et al.’s (2023) publication titled “Rethinking integrated computer science instruction: A cross-context and expansive approach in elementary classrooms,” which compared perceptions of teaching and learning the intersections of computer science and geometry in integrated and cross-context approaches.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro00:22 Abstract01:20 Single sentence summary02:08 Paper introduction02:49 Research questions03:07 Theoretical framework: Expansive framing04:32 Cross-context, expansively-framed CS-mathematics lessons06:32 Methods07:01 Findings: RQ1 - Paraprofessionals' perceptions11:48 RQs 2 + 3: Students' perceptions13:52 Lingering questions and thoughts13:57 How would this study have compared with teachers instead of paraprofessionals?14:38 What’s your rationale for integrating (or not)?15:39 Outro
4/24/23 • 16:11
In this episode I unpack Hu and Yadav’s (2023) publication titled “How K-12 CS teachers conceptualize CS ethics: Future opportunities and barriers to ethics integration in K-12 CS,” which explores K-12 CS educators’ perspectives on ethics before and after an introduction to the big ideas around ethics in computing.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Introduction00:35 Abstract01:41 One sentence summary01:59 Paper introduction02:47 Research questions03:24 Background03:57 Big ideas in CS ethics05:05 Methods05:39 Findings05:43 RQ1a: Pre-conceptualizations of CS ethics06:33 RQ1b: Post-conceptualizations of CS ethics08:04 RQ2a: Opportunities and barriers11:11 RQ2b: Values12:13 Lingering questions and thoughts12:15 What does this mean for PD and curriculum providers?12:57 How does your desire to integrate ethics compare with your desire to focus on equity? Where do the two overlap and diverge?13:27 How has your understanding of ethics changed over time?14:00 Do you prefer mini series or something new every week?15:10 Outro
4/17/23 • 15:25
In this episode I unpack Smith et al.’s (2023) publication titled “Incorporating ethics in computing courses: Barriers, support, and perspectives from educators,” which investigates the perceived barriers and support for implementing ethics into higher education CS courses.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Introduction00:41 Abstract02:24 Paper introduction02:42 Research questions03:06 Method03:29 Findings03:31 RQ1: Educators' perceptions of ethics09:26 RQ2: Barriers to ethics integration15:12 RQ3: Structures supporting ethics18:33 Discussion18:45 Lingering questions and thoughts18:55 If we consider null curricula, won't there always be not enough time to learn the technical?20:03 If integrating CS into another content area, are we further diluting CS by also focusing on ethics?22:01 How would these perspectives compare with elementary, middle school, and high school educators?22:22 Outro
4/10/23 • 22:44
In this episode I unpack Horton, Liu, McIlraith, and Wang’s (2023) publication titled “Is more better when embedding ethics in CS courses?,” which investigates the impact of one and two embedded ethics modules within undergraduate computer science courses.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Introduction00:34 Paper abstract01:56 One sentence summary02:42 1 Introduction03:16 3 Our embedded ethics program03:34 41. Research questions04:34 4.2 Methods05:02 Results05:08 5.1 Positive impact decreases and is restored by a subsequent module06:25 5.2 A second module in the same semester provides little added benefit07:45 5.3 Positive impact of EE modules is robust across many contexts08:22 5.4 Replication of results showing positive impact from CS2 module08:57 Discussion09:43 Lingering questions and thoughts09:53 Is there a point where you don’t think computer scientists need to focus on ethics in computing?12:11 When should ethics be embedded within a CS class?14:08 How might a person’s understanding of ethics in computing impact their careers in computing?16:15 Outro
4/3/23 • 16:33
[This episode was a friendly April Fools prank about changing the show’s format] A quick announcement of some upcoming changes to the podcast.Click here for this episode’s show notes.How to Get Started with Computer Science Education
4/1/23 • 01:26
