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ERIC Number: EJ1467239
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 37
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0899 3408
EISSN: EISSN-1744-5175
Available Date: 0000-00-00
"These Two Worlds Are Antithetical": Epistemic Tensions in Integrating Computational Thinking in K12 Humanities and Arts
Rafi Santo1; Anne Drew Hu2; David Phelps1; Secil Caskurlu2; Kyle Dunbar2; Aman Yadav2
Computer Science Education, v35 n1 p153-189 2025
Background: While advocates for integrating Computational Thinking (CT) into existing K12 classrooms have acknowledged and aimed to address various barriers to implementation, we contend that a more foundational issue -- tensions between the epistemology of computing and those of existing disciplines -- has largely been overlooked. Studies of contact between heterogeneous disciplinary perspectives in both pedagogical and real world professional settings point to other risks, and harms, that educators may need to consider as they attempt to integrate CT into their teaching. As such, designing for integrated CT pedagogies does not simply require addressing functional problems such as teacher professional learning and limited classroom time, but rather implicates complex epistemological navigations. Objective: This manuscript explores epistemic tensions between Computational Thinking (CT) and K12 humanities and arts disciplines and possibilities for their resolution. Method: Based on a Delphi study with 43 experts from three disciplines -- language arts, social studies, and arts -- as they engaged in 20 hours of focus group conversations exploring potential approaches to integrating CT these disciplines, analysis focused on identifying perceived epistemic tensions that can arise in the context of instruction and directions for their resolution. Findings: We found 5 epistemic tensions that are explored in detail: contextual reductionism, procedural reductionism, epistemic chauvinism, threats to epistemic identities, and epistemic convergence, as well as a number of potential directions for navigating them. Implications: The study's findings provide insights that bear on both scholarship and pedagogical design aimed at promoting substantive interdisciplinary learning with CT, and, critically, navigating potential tensions that can arise within it.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1933933
Author Affiliations: 1Telos Learning, USA; 2Educational Psychology and Educational Technology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA