“The most powerful experiences in peer-guided learning at scale tend to be deep, collaborative, sustained, and interest-driven. These characteristics, however, are at odds with the pedagogical approach of most schools, which usually require that learning experiences are experience individually, not collectively, along a set of mandated curriculum guidelines, not determined by students’ interests, and for uniform time-spans – the class period, the marking period, the semester – not sustained over time.” Justin Reich, Failure to Disrupt Throughout the book Failure to Disrupt, I was constantly struct by the recurring theme of community, connectedness, and lack thereof. The proponents of learning…

Abstract Popular media and academic literature are rife with statistical descriptions of “underrepresentation” in computer science education and careers. Because of this, there is an increasing amount of research on what can be done in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities to attract women and students of color. A related effort is attempting to close the so-called “leaky pipeline” in which students lose their interest in computer science and pursue other subjects in high school or college. This literature review advances the idea that in order to treat these symptoms, the underlying cause must be addressed: the culture of computer…

Abstract In “Unpacking the Male Superiority Myth”, Leyva defines differences in sex, gender, race, and ethnicity, and how they have historically played a role in participation and achievement in mathematics. Fluid and individualistic definitions of gender, masculinity, and mathematical ability require new research on perceived differences.   Introduction Leyva reviews and reframes past literature on mathematics as a “gendered domain” (Leyva, 2017). While he references queer theory in defining gender, he does not do so in defining the expectations of masculinity.  In terms of mathematical ability, he defines only two subcategories – knowledge and participation (Leyva, 2017). I will argue that…

In chapter 3, Bowers lays out the premise that “the ubiquity of computers in daily life now needs to be matched by an equally widespread public discussion of the cultural gains and losses associated with the mediating characteristics of computers.” The main arguments he presents are that computers (and the internet) are not objective transmitters of information but subtly modify both the information itself and the way it is communicated. While this fits in with Western ways of thinking and knowing (because it was designed, is used, and continues to be expanded by those in power), I wonder if computers…

In Critical Pedagogy, Joe Kincheloe puts forth the idea that education can not be separated from politics and social justice. Underlying this premise is the idea that not taking action is in itself an action. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King states in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice.” Or, put even more bluntly in recent slogans, “white…

In chapter three of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire introduces the concept of culture at the personal, group, community, region, and national levels and cultural revolution as a progression of the individuals in each group coming together to understand their reality and take the steps needed to fully realize their humanity – to liberate themselves.  My question revolves around the members of the community who feel such a strong connection to the past (or some glorified mythology of the past) that they see any questioning (or “problem-posing”) as an attack on their identity. People who have been oppressed for…

Computers and computer science were not always the domain of rich, white males, but like most things that have become integrated with education and capitalism, these systems have used computer science to perpetuate themselves. As computer science gets pushed into high schools and even down into elementary schools, the curricula are increasingly looking like “college-light”. These curricula are developed by rich, white, males with their own interests and goals in mind and therefore attract other rich, white males. The current solutions offered usually involve putting posters of people of color on the walls and having women programmers come in to…