Session 2: Equity Journey
45 minutes
discussion-based
Purpose
This session provides participants with an opportunity to reflect on the CS Discoveries professional learning equity sessions they engaged with throughout the year, as well as the progress they themselves have made in supporting equity in their CS Discoveries classrooms. This session also supports participants in identifying next steps they want to commit to taking after the workshop as they continue to work towards the equity goal of bringing computer science to all students.
Objectives
- Participants will describe the commitment they will continue to pursue in support of equity in CS, and the strategies they will use to support that commitment.
- Participants will define the support they will need to pursue that commitment.
- Participants will identify the measurement(s) they will use to track progress toward the commitment.
Supplies & Prep
Agenda
Looking Back (20 minutes)
Going Forward (25 minutes)
Facilitation Guide
Looking Back (20 minutes)
Remarks
During this session, we will reflect on our personal journey towards building equitable and inclusive CS classrooms as well as identify next steps we each want to commit to going forward. Let’s begin by checking in where we are based on our summer commitment in support of equity, as well as using a data inquiry cycle that was introduced in AYW 2.
(7 minutes) Think-Pair-Share
Prompt: Think about the commitment in support of access, diversity or inclusion you made in the summer. Share a struggle and a celebration.
[Begin this activity by sharing your response to the prompt.
For example, “My commitment in support of access, diversity or inclusion was to bring CS to my school. My struggle is that I want to figure out how to recruit students into my class to better represent my school’s demographics. My celebration is that students currently not in my class are showing interest and asking me about CS."]
(1 minute) Think: individual reflection
(2 minutes) Pair: share with a partner
(4 minutes) Share: share and discuss with the whole group. Ask for a few volunteers to share with the whole group.
(10 minutes) Data inquiry cycle
Remarks
Using a data inquiry cycle as a way to develop a plan to improve access, diversity, and inclusion in your CS classroom was introduced in AYW 2. Consider using the data equity cycle as a way to inform your commitment in support of equity. Let’s identify what is working when using the data inquiry cycle and brainstorm ideas to improve on what may be challenging.
(4 minutes) Participants discuss the prompt in small groups. Circulate the room to identify and share common themes among what is working when using data inquiry cycles with the whole group.
Prompt:
- What is working well when using a data inquiry cycle in support of access, diversity, and inclusion?
(1 minute) Share with the whole group common themes among what is working when using data inquiry cycles.
(5 minutes) Facilitate a group discussion for participants to respond to the prompts and invite the whole group to brainstorm ideas for addressing what is not working when using data inquiry cycles. Add ideas for addressing what is not working on the designated slide for participants to refer to after the workshop.
Prompts:
- What is challenging when using a data inquiry cycle in support of access, diversity, and inclusion?
- How might these challenges be addressed to better use data inquiry cycles in support of access, diversity, and inclusion?
(1 minute) Equity Overview
Provide participants with a high level overview of the equity themes discussed throughout their PL experience. Refer to the slide “Looking Back.”
(2 minutes) Journal
Participants are not asked to share their responses to the prompt. However, share your own response to the prompt with participants using the format of “I used to think_ and now I think__”.
- For example, “This is my second year facilitating this workshop and I used to only think about recruiting students to my classes and now I also think about my bias and how it affects how I interact with students.”
Prompt:
- How has your understanding or approach to access, diversity, and inclusion in CS education evolved? I used to think...now I think…
Going Forward (25 minutes)
(12 minutes) Identifying Our Values
Remarks
This time is an opportunity to also revisit your commitment and anchor it in your values that guide our own thoughts and actions. These values are separate from Code.org’s Professional Learning or Curriculum values.
Each of our values have been informed by our own lived experiences. Perhaps you grew up in a community with inaccessible spaces, and now you’re interested in making your classroom accessible to students of all abilities. We bring our identities and experiences with us into the classroom whether we realize it or not.
[Share an example of a personal value that is important to your teaching or facilitation practice and how it manifests. For example, “When I was first starting out with teaching, I had an administrator who led the best professional development sessions because we felt heard and included in discussions. Now, when I facilitate, I try as much as possible to call on a variety of people so that everyone knows that their voice is important.”]
Remarks
Let’s take a moment to identify our personal values, specifically as they relate to equitable education.
(3 minutes) Introduce the personal values activity:
- Choose three personal values from the list on the next slide (or perhaps values that aren’t on the list) that most resonate with you and the equitable teaching practices you’re growing as a CS educator.
- Create three webs with a central bubble to hold these values. Around the central bubble, create bubbles branching out.
- Within each outside bubble, jot down a word or phrase that would be evidence of this value in your classroom.
- For example, if you chose gender inclusivity, you might draw a connected bubble that says, “Hang posters with people of all genders represented” or “Challenge stereotypes of what is a “masculine” or “feminine” App Lab project in conversations with students to encourage them to pursue their interests.”
(5 minutes) Participants create their own web in their journals. This time can be used independently or in small groups to help generate ideas.
(4 minutes) Partner Talk:
- Share with a partner which of your values is most important to you and the evidence of the value in your classroom.
- Why is this value most important to you?
(3 minutes) Introduce the Task
Remarks
Now that we’ve identified our own personal values, we can use this as the foundation for a commitment to equity that we want to continue to pursue beyond this workshop. You might already notice this commitment may change and evolve over time as you grow as a CS educator.
Introduce the house metaphor for making a commitment to equity:
- The foundation of the house is the value that you’d like to base your commitment on.
- The roof is the commitment that you’ll make. This is a statement that is actionable and can be evaluated using quantitative or qualitative data.
- The walls are:
- The support that you’ll need - either resources or other people - to work toward your commitment and
- The measurements to track progress so that you can be accountable to your commitment
Remarks
When we talk about measurements, we’re not explicitly talking about test scores. Remember to engage with the data inquiry cycle to help you collect qualitative and quantitative data and evidence to help you track your progress. Tying these measurements back to the value you’ve identified can help you move away from traditional ideas of “measurements”.
Review the example in the slideshow:
Value: Self-awareness
Commitment: I commit to identifying and working against my own unconscious biases in the classroom by questioning my assumptions about who needs help completing coding tasks and keeping track of who gets the most “air time” during discussions.
Facilitator Tip
Additional examples of supports to share with participants:
- Set a weekly calendar reminder to reflect on your week through the lens of equity and inclusion. Use that time to journal or reflect on your drive home about your progress in implementing the strategy.
- Consider doing professional reading about equity. This reading could be done on your own, or better yet, with another group of people to be able to discuss and process what you learn.
- Coworkers to discuss unconscious bias with during planning time
- Prep time to complete coding levels before each lesson
- Measurements to Track Progress:
- Keep a tracker of who is sharing out during class and when, and aim to have all students participate
- Progress data to target students who need help
(5 minutes) Revisit Commitments
Facilitator Tip
If participants do not feel comfortable sharing their values whole-group with a slide, encourage participants to use their journals instead. Use the example slide as a template.
Participants revisit and revise their commitments in support of equity by choosing a slide from the slide deck and filling it out. Remind participants their revised commitment should be rooted in access, diversity, and inclusion in CS, as well as measurable by qualitative or quantitative data.
(5 minutes) Share Out
Invite participants to share their commitments to equitable CS education with the whole group.