Connect computer science learning to Appalachian ingenuity and community identity to move it from novelty to change¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The presentation's current guiding question is connecting computational thinking with what district leader Neil Arnett calls Appalachian ingenuity: asking "Who are the community makers? Who are the creators?" so that computer science education captures and perpetuates local creative traditions. Arnett reflects that this framing "takes [computer science] from novelty to actual change, and it ties it directly to the people on the ground."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Curriculum must be framed around local creators, makers, and historians rather than generic computing content

Constraints¶

• Developed specifically for Appalachian districts where regional identity is a strong motivational asset

Target Learners¶

• K-8 students in Eastern Kentucky

Target Learning Goals¶

• Computational thinking
• Identity as community makers and creators

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Kentucky Appalachia Ct Pathway Rpp
• Agency Permission To Shape The Future
• Connect computational thinking to local maker and problem-solver heritage to teach it responsively to local culture
• Use named community strengths — kinship, hopes and dreams for the future, grit and resistance to injustice — as scaffolds in K-8 CS/CT instruction
• Panel protocol: open with community cultural resources, then moderated discussion connecting community assets to computing education

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Emi Iwatani. (2023). Tough as Nails & Drawing on Kinship: Rigorous and inclusive educational research in Kentucky Appalachia [Invited speaker session]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. https://bit.ly/TANrefs