In the Quest for Equitable Computer Science Education Among Under-Reached Groups, Someone is Being Left Out
By Lori Cameron
Computer science education is engaging in an unprecedented effort to expand learning opportunities in K-12 CS education, especially among women and minorities.
However, one group of students is often overlooked: those with specific learning disabilities and related attention deficit disorders.
As CS education initiatives grow, K-12 teachers need research-informed guidance to make computing more accessible for students who learn differently.
Sarah Wille and Jeanne Century of Outlier Research and Evaluation, and Miriam Pike of the Wolcott School in Chicago report on the first phase of a National Science Foundation-supported exploratory research study on the need among K-12 teachers for guidance in making computing more accessible for students who learn differently.
In their article “Exploratory Research to Expand Opportunities in Computer Science for Students with Learning Differences,” (login may be required for full text) published in the May/June 2017 issue of Computing in Science & Engineering, the authors present their initial findings, and highlight their collaboration in supporting better learning opportunities in computer science for learning-disabled students.
About Lori Cameron
Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.
