Wrapping Things Up

When I began the journey to my master's degree, I entered knowing that I liked computers and learning new things, especially those that might help me become a better teacher and I had a fuzzy idea as to why students would be attracted to computer science like I was since they seemingly used their devices all day and enjoyed playing video games. I had been a computer science teacher for a few years now and I thought I knew how I wanted to structure my classes and how I wanted to teach computer science to the students, but I found that my thoughts were not well-defined or properly sequenced. Lastly, I entered the program towards the tail end of the worst stretch of the Covid pandemic and I had just begun to get my footing after a long battle with a severe anxiety disorder. In reality, I wondered sometimes if I could handle the additional stress and responsibilities.

The first class that I took in my program was CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings. My instructor was Dr. Brittany Dillman and she gave me first-hand experience with MAET's concepts of iteration and revision. The major project of the class was a semester-long paper on our personal theory of learning. We were asked to initially compose the paper from what we knew and believed at the beginning of the class. Then, with each unit of the class, we were asked to revisit our writing in order to adapt or strengthen our argument to fit with the lessons we learned. This iterative process of learning and analysis, expression in writing, accepting feedback, and the resultant revision is one that I learned to embrace and have incorporated into my personal outlook on life and into my teaching.

 I cannot vainly boast that I was always excited about the "opportunity" to revise and improve my work. I was pushed (sometimes rather unwillingly) by Dr. Dillman, and later by Ms. Nicole Zumpano in CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology, to be more exact and demanding in my written expression in order to better communicate what I really thought and believed. Constructive and supportive feedback was given with each week’s submission concerning ways that I could improve my work or with questions about perspectives that I may not have considered. Even though I did not always appreciate it at the time, I am thankful now that I was pushed to be my best by all of the teachers that I had. I have passed this iterative learning process on to the students that I teach as I urge them to not be satisfied with "getting it done," but instead to push themselves to produce something really excellent that they would be proud of sharing.

As a side effect of passing through this gauntlet of iteration, I have become a much more confident and able writer. By its nature, an online asynchronous program will necessarily consist of extensive amounts of writing. Pumping out 750 words (or here 2,000+ words) for a writing assignment became so routine that it did not even bother me. I often tell my students that the more skilled they become in writing, the easier (and more rewarding) their school experience will become. This has definitely become true for me as I come to the end of the program.

As the sole member of the computer science department at our school, the responsibility falls to me to recruit students and grow the program. In CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice, I extensively studied the wicked problem of student motivation, specifically how to motivate students to take computer science classes at the high school level. Although it was a daunting task, I am glad now that I invested the time into this investigation because my thoughts about why all students should take CS and the potential roadblocks that need to be cleared are so much more lucid and well-defined.

At the initiation of my investigation, I was frankly baffled why many students do not pursue a career in CS or even attempt a CS class despite the fact that employment opportunities in the technology field are numerous, the compensation is relatively lucrative, and this despite the fact that students seem to really enjoy technology since they are on their devices nearly 24/7. One of the key themes that emerged as a reason why many students do not was the negative impact of the idea of the stereotypical “nerdy” computer scientist that most students (and adults) persistently hold.

While this stereotype is not always reflective of the people in the field, I put myself up as a counter-example, computer science, as do other STEM disciplines, tends to attract certain types of people who do fit many of the prevailing misconceptions. The job of those of us in CS education is to present a balanced representation so that the field is attractive to as many people as possible. In the course of analyzing my teaching for areas of improvement, I have found that the dynamics of my classroom interactions with students and the general “feel” of the learning space has the potential to attract or detract from their willingness to attempt CS classes.

In order to make our computer science offerings more attractive, I have undertaken some deliberate actions based on things that I learned throughout the course of my dual-class project on gameful design. Areas of focus have been my personal interactions with students, making the feel of the learning space more inviting, and using game design and development as a core component of the curriculum.

Without taking anything from the rigor of the course or compromising the school’s or my own high standards, I want the students to enjoy coming to class. Although I believe myself to have the students' best interests in mind and I think I am compassionate and kind, I have always been the kind of teacher who really pushed students to excel so that they are prepared for their futures. I used to tell the students that when they are older they would appreciate the teachers who pushed them to be their best much more than the teachers who just let them “have fun.” I reasoned that if the students did not care for my class now, they would appreciate it later. However, this long-term game has not been motivating for students to take my classes in the short term. I have therefore developed a lighter touch and a more playful demeanor in dealing with students and in teaching the class while still maintaining the future-oriented focus on applicable skills.

Another action I have taken in order to increase affinity for CS is to redesign the learning space that is the computer lab in order to make it a more welcoming space that students will enjoy being in. I almost always play light jazz music as the students enter the classroom and for our five-minute warm-up. I purchased star-themed light covers for the front of the room to dampen the harsh LED lights. In keeping with the star theme, I put up some Van Gogh prints on the walls although the walls are still a bit bare. Finally, I decomposed a computer and put labels on the parts as an interactive display of how computers work.

In addition to the personal outreach and adjusting the aesthetics of the lab, we have fine-tuned our curriculum and class offerings in order to tap into the interests of our students. Even before starting the MAET program, I had been tinkering with the idea of increasing the pedagogical role of game design and development in my classes. What started off as an idea to possibly increase student motivation for learning was solidified as a result of my studies and, as you can see from the theme of my entire portfolio, using game design and development to teach computational thinking is now central to my entire philosophy and educational practice.

Our freshman computer introduction class is anchored by the computational thinking unit. Every previous unit builds toward it and every succeeding unit refers back to it. In this unit, the students learn by doing, specifically by creating a series of increasingly more complex games in the Scratch programming language. With each game, the students learn to decompose the gameplay into its constituent parts and then systematically work at creating a prototype algorithm to solve the problem at the individual step.

I tell the students that I do not expect them all to become programmers, but I do tell them that creating a game is a great way to develop their skills in computational thinking which they will use in whatever career path they choose. Along with decomposition and algorithmic thinking, students learn creativity and perseverance as they attempt to bring to reality in code the conception that once existed only in their minds. Games are inherently fun, but designing them can be frustrating since the code does not always seem to work the way the students think it will work. As is true in life in general for any worthwhile endeavor, this requires persistence and builds the soft skill of keeping with a project until it is correct, despite many failures and missteps.

The first-year mainline programming class is also rooted in game design and development. The students learn the basics of how computers work at a deep level by starting with the C programming language. Then as the first semester rolls into the second the students see the fruits of their labor as they are able to put their learnings into practice by designing and developing real games. Currently, we are using the Lua programming language because it is one of the most widely used by real programmers and I want the students to see that what they are learning has real-life applications. However, I am probably going to transition to JavaScript because it is more easily used and since it is web-based, students can use it both at home and in school.

We are also adding a mid-level class to the computer science offerings in order to give an entry point for students who may not have a background in programming or a desire to take on the challenge of the first-year course. The curriculum for this course comes from Disney so it has that additional “fun factor” and approachability which will hopefully motivate students to give the class a try. The class uses game design, web design, and graphic design to teach computational thinking and programming skills at a beginning level. I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with the curriculum over the summer and seeing how the students will react to it.

Lastly, not really because of one particular class, but due to successfully navigating the increased demands on my time and energy, I am happy to report that I have risen to the challenge and have grown tremendously in my abilities to manage my time, my workload, and my stress level. This is tremendously satisfying since, as I mentioned at the beginning of this piece and explored more in depth in my application essay, I used to suffer from a debilitating anxiety disorder to the point where I wondered whether I could keep doing my job and almost lost my family.

I used to run from my emotions, but now I have learned to embrace them, work with and through them, and even pass on my hard-earned wisdom to my students. I have learned to be okay with feeling stressed and to become okay with not wanting to do what I know I have to do, yet do it anyway. Yet, I have learned to become acutely aware of my level of overwhelm and take appropriate action in order to alleviate the feelings when they become bothersome. Now, I model good emotional health to my students by being transparent with them about my struggles and reminding them over and over that it is okay to be frustrated and unmotivated, yet they need to push through and do what they need to do. Since my class is challenging (concurrently with much encouragement and praise) I also remind them continually that worthwhile things are hard and that they can do hard things.

I am grateful to my school for giving me the opportunity to have this experience with the master’s degree program. I have grown as a teacher and as a person because of the time that I have invested and I look forward to a brighter future as I build on the lessons and skills that I have learned.