3 minute read
SCRATCH ENCORE
Young people from minority groups can sometimes feel excluded in the computing classroom because learning resources use real-world examples that they cannot relate to. Educators can make use of culturally relevant materials to foster a sense of belonging in the classroom, and this can help learners to see computing as a subject where they fit in. One resource that educators can use is Scratch Encore, a US-designed curriculum for students aged 10 to 14 in which equity is valued as much as learning outcomes. This equitable ethos translates into a set of culturally responsive themes and topics with which students can create Scratch projects and learn computing concepts.
Advertisement
How does the curriculum work?
Scratch Encore consists of 15 different modules covering a variety of different computing topics. Educators can teach each module using one of three strands: Multicultural, Youth Culture, and Gaming. The strands and themes within them were developed through participatory design sessions with educators, students, and parents. Teachers can choose the strand that they think will best resonate with their learners. For example, they might choose to teach events in Scratch using a multicultural context, and then teach conditional loops using projects themed around youth culture.
The resources are written around the Use–Modify–Create approach, in which learners begin by investigating existing projects and then move on to applying what they have learnt by creating their own project. The resources were piloted with a small group of teachers, who suggested that they were useful in terms of student engagement. An automated assessment tool analysed the projects made in the Create section and compared the frequency of blocks used by students in their projects against the blocks that had been taught in the Use and Modify sections. The initial results indicate that the Scratch Encore curriculum may indeed be balancing equity with learning outcomes.
STORY BY Katharine Childs
Overcoming barriers to equity
The structure, content, and materials used in Scratch Encore have been designed to overcome several barriers to equity in the computing classroom. The Use–Modify–Create approach means that the beginning of each module is heavily scaffolded, ensuring that learners feel confident before moving on to a more open-ended approach. This approach also recognises that teachers have varying levels of experience and confidence. The curriculum makes provisions for the diverse prior experiences
that students may have of using Scratch, and provides a review of introductory computing concepts in the first three modules. Learners’ cultural backgrounds are represented through the diverse themes present in the three different strands; furthermore, learners are given autonomy in the Create section of each module. Finally, the resources are available for free, so that schools working within stretched budgets are not excluded.
Although it’s still in the early stages of research and development, Scratch Encore provides a new approach to creating
n The Scratch Encore curriculum offers teachers a choice of contexts for teaching computing concepts
a curriculum. It does this by carefully considering the inequities and barriers to learning computing and putting in place strategies to overcome them. Teachers who are preparing their own schemes of work for learners may benefit from considering the learning materials from an equity perspective and identifying ways in which they can engage learners by using culturally relevant contexts.
FURTHER READING
Franklin, D. et al. (2020). Scratch Encore: The Design and Pilot of a CulturallyRelevant Intermediate Scratch Curriculum. In: Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. SIGCSE ’20. New York. 794–800.
helloworld.cc/scratchencorepaper
The Scratch Encore curriculum:
