Emergent Bi/Multilingual Middle Schoolers Forging Computational Literacies
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2020 Translanguaging About, With, and Through Code and Computing: Emergent Bi/multilingual Middle Schoolers Forging Computational Literacies Sara Vogel The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3963 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] TRANSLANGUAGING ABOUT, WITH, AND THROUGH CODE AND COMPUTING: EMERGENT BI/MULTILINGUAL MIDDLE SCHOOLERS FORGING COMPUTATIONAL LITERACIES by SARA VOGEL A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2020 Sara Vogel [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2878-6589 © Sara Vogel 2020 ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 05/08/2020 Kate Menken Date Chair of Examining Committee 05/08/2020 Wendy Luttrell Date Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Dr. Kate Menken Dr. Ofelia García Dr. Wendy Luttrell Dr. Christopher Hoadley THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract Translanguaging About, With, and Through Code and Computing: Emergent Bi/multilingual Middle Schoolers Forging Computational Literacies by Sara Vogel Advisor: Dr. Kate Menken As computing pervades more aspects of our lives, and as Computer Science for All (CS for All) initiatives roll out across the U.S., the field must understand the experiences and language practices of emergent bi/multilingual K-12 students and use that knowledge to drive equitable pedagogical and programmatic approaches. But little is known about how emergent bi/multilingual students — a growing population that school systems have often viewed with deficit-based lenses and have thus struggled to educate equitably — use language in the context of CS education. This dissertation addresses this gap by (1) qualitatively documenting and using asset-based frames to analyze moments when emergent bilingual middle schoolers translanguaged (flexibly orchestrated linguistic, semiotic, and technological resources) (García & Li Wei, 2014; Hua et al., 2019; Li Wei, 2018; Otheguy et al., 2015; Pennycook, 2017a, 2017b) as they participated in computational literacies (DiSessa, 2000; Gee, 2015; Y. B. Kafai & Burke, 2014; New London Group, 1996; Vogel, Hoadley, et al., 2020; Vogel, Hoadley, Ascenzi- Moreno, et al., 2019) in CS-integrated Language Arts, English-as-a-New Language, and Social Studies units co-designed by teachers and researchers working together in a research-practice partnership. It also (2) captures insights about how students understood their meaning-making choices in those moments and (3) uses findings from this empirical work to generate theory about the relationships between translanguaging and computational literacies. iv Guided by “moment analysis” (Li Wei, 2011), multimodality (Jewitt, 2013), and teacher action research (Mertler, 2017), this study conducted ethnographic observations and interviews with focal students in two public school classrooms serving emergent bi/multilingual students. Translanguaging moments shedding light on students’ creativity and criticality were purposively selected and analyzed through multimodal transcription (Flewitt et al., 2009), and the lenses of the project’s theoretical framework. Findings for (1) include that students translanguaged to participate in conversations about, with, and through computers, code, and computational artifacts. Their translanguaging incorporated linguistic, semiotic, and experiential resources they had embodied, and which were also embedded and distributed across other people (peers, educators), places (school, home, the media and digital environments), and objects (curricular designs, classroom materials, technologies). Students took up culturally relevant objects and metaphors for computer programming suggested by teachers and curriculum designs, and devised their own unique metaphors for programming rooted in conversation and communication. Students engaged in “embodied digital languaging practices” with computers. These did communicative work, though they are not recognized as languaging in traditional bilingual / English-as-a-New Language classrooms or in CS education. Findings for (2) included that students were aware of the possibilities and constraints that emerged from their interactions with computers and expressed critiques of software when it limited their learning or expression. Students made intentional meaning-making choices regarding linguistic, semiotic, and technological resources to facilitate their learning and language exploration, to express themselves, and to reach particular audiences. Findings for (3) included that students mashed up literacies and language practices from many v domains and communities, transcending what schools typically expect emergent bilingual students to converse about and produce in typical CS, language, and content classes. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that emergent bi/multilingual students’ diverse language practices are assets in CS education, and indeed enabled the forging of new meaningful computational literacies. This project lays groundwork for CS practitioners to meaningfully include emergent bi/multilingual students and for bilingual education to consider computing’s role in languaging and expression. vi Acknowledgements Sometime last year, as I was in the throes of fieldwork, I crafted an email to one of my many mentors, Dr. Ofelia García. I was stressed (as usual). She wrote back: “Just hang in there. Everyone wants a set path but as I think Einstein once said, the difference between a detective and a scientist is that for the detective the crime is already committed. The scientist has to commit their own crime. Go and open up a space!” If my dissertation is a crime scene, there are dozens of people’s fingerprints all over it, and many co-conspirators. Central to this work were the principals and teachers who have partnered with us to make Participating in Literacies and Computer Science (PiLa-CS) a reality. You took a chance on our project, opened up your classrooms and schools, spent hours learning to code, planning lessons, debriefing, co-analyzing, and writing – leaving your comfort zones many times over. You trekked out to the Village, Brooklyn and 34th street – even to California and Minnesota. My gratitude especially to the teachers at the heart of this dissertation. You inspire me with your dedication and creativity! Now, a musical interlude: “When words fail, she speaks… / She smiles and it's a rainbow / And she speaks / and she breathes / I want to be Kate.” Nineties rocker Ben Folds said it best. Dr. Kate Menken is a rainbow. She took on a Co-PI role on a new grant. She taught me data analysis at her kitchen table. She is a shoulder, a sounding board, and a cheerleader. She provided constructive feedback even in the midst of a global pandemic. She is the kind of scholar-educator-activist I’d like to be. Throughout this process, words would fail me, she would speak, and then I would know what to do. This project would not have been possible without PiLaCS PI, Dr. Chris Hoadley. He heard me talk about translanguaging and CS at a brainstorm four years ago and said, “Let’s do vii it!” And then worked his grant-writing magic. He’s put in hours to solidify our partnerships and keep the logistics humming. He equipped me with a quiet space to work on my dissertation, where he would often coach me, and collaborate with me on articles, presentations, PD, and curricular designs. Chris has helped me become a better scholar, writer, and collaborator through his example and feedback. Thinking like Chris, I can’t forget to add that this work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation under NSF grant CNS-1738645 and DRL-1837446. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Of course, Dr. Ofelia García’s theoretical contributions formed the core of my thinking about bilingual ed research and practice – how could they not? They center people and their language practices, with an eye towards transformation of our present reality. She believed in me from the very start of this journey, and all the way through, sending me across the city and across the hemisphere to share my work. On the most challenging of days, her faith, her willingness to build ideas together, and her commitment to emergent bilingual children and families kept me going and made me see my work’s value. A well-timed email from Ofelia is an adrenaline hit. Key to mention is that portions of Section 3’s conceptual framework regarding translanguaging foundations appeared in Vogel & García (2017) and are used and adapted with permissions. If I know anything about qualitative research and its ethics, it is because of Dr. Wendy Luttrell. I thank her for “joining my thinking,” being an organized and forward-thinking Executive Officer of Urban Ed, and providing opportunities for me to work for the department. Co-PI Dr. Laura Ascenzi-Moreno. Fellow