Collaborative Research: Rethinking Circle Time: Integrating Computational Thinking into K-2 Literacy

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

To prepare all students to participate the increasingly digital society, computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) education opportunities must engage all students in CS ideas and practices to help them understand how computing influences the world. At the younger grades, CS education focuses on computational thinking (CT), which is the process of identifying a problem and creating potential solutions so that a computer (human or machine) could implement that solution.

Students’ elementary experiences impact their perceptions and dispositions toward STEM, with studies showing gender differences in CS as early as 5th grade. The Rethinking Circle Time project will examine the learning and instruction required for K-2 students to engage meaningfully with CT. Because K-2 teachers struggle with fitting CT into the school day, some suggest integrating CT into other subjects.

With literacy being a strong focus at the K-2 levels, this project will research the process of rethinking literacy “circle time” - a reference to whole group literacy instruction. Rethinking Circle Time will engage with K-2 students, in-service teachers, and pre-service teachers to design, implement, and iterate different literacy activities that build students’ CT knowledge and interests to explore connections between literacy and CT to learn about how to help students, especially girls, gain key CT understandings.

The overarching research question being addressed in this project is: What are models for integrating computational thinking and literacy in K-2 classrooms that support key CT understandings and abilities for all students and guide high-leverage instructional practices for teachers? This question will be answered through design-based research (DBR) using a multi-tiered design experiment that incorporates feedback loops for each tier based on findings focused on student learning; student interest and motivation with an emphasis on girls; and instructional innovations, practices, and experiences of both in-service and pre-service teachers.

The multi-tiered design experiment has three levels: Tier 1: Student Level, Tier 2: Teacher Level, Tier 3: Researcher Level. The project will examine the conceptual models of the actors (students, teachers, researchers) at each tier, and how these tiers interact: students as they learn CT through literacy, teachers as they create and implement learning environments for CT, and researchers who play an integral part in each of the systems that will be researched.

Therefore, planned and unplanned feedback loops will be utilized to refine representations of the conceptual models as the project seeks to understand how K-2 students, particularly girls, learn CT through literacy contexts and how to support that learning effectively. Contributions from this project include (1) theoretical and practical advances in helping K-2 students develop an understanding of CT concepts in the context of literacy, specifically around multiple representations and translations, (2) a model for supporting in-service and pre-service teachers to integrate CT and literacy education, and (3) design principles for creating curricula for K-2 CT education with a focus on engaging young girls in CT.

This project will directly impact and research an ecosystem of K-2 in-service teachers (n=9), pre-service teachers (n=200), and students (n=300) across multiple contexts (rural/urban, across two states). The project’s partner schools serve a diverse range of learners, including students from underrepresented groups. The CAPE framework will be used to examine issues of equity in the K-2 CT literacy lessons, especially girls.

The knowledge generated from this project support broadening participation in CS by examining students’ experiences in CT at the K-2 levels. This project is supported through the CS for All: Research and RPPs program.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.