Diana Miculescu

EDCI 7975

15 March 2019

Reflections on work/teaching for A Reciprocal Model for Teaching and Learning Computational

Competencies (ARMTLCC) Project

At Sequoyah Middle School, I, along with another GRA, are facilitating student

computational thinking by providing students with opportunities to engage in a block coding

program, Scratch. To get the students started on a specific project, we carried out a problem-

posing activity with the students. In this activity, students brainstormed as many problems as

they could and then organized all the problems into groups. After the activity, students chose a

problem that was personal to them, supporting “their power to perceive critically the way they

exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves” (Freire, 2000, p. 83). Students

mapped out their problem of choice by considering their perceptions on policies and practices

which have a direct impact on their lives and in their communities, such as school uniforms,

school lunches, school sports teams, and homework (Ladson-Billings, 2014). In the first lesson,

we asked students to create a storyboard including their problem. Then students explored Scratch

to choose Sprites, or characters for their stories. After the students edited their Sprites, they

began building blocks of code.

Reflecting on my experience, I have come to realize I enjoy working with middle school-

aged students. In my teaching field experience at Collins Hill High School, I teach ninth graders,

and while they have just graduated middle school, there seems to be more direct personal

conversation between teachers and students at Sequoyah Middle School. Because LYLA is an

after-school program, it is a much less formal setting than what I am accustomed to in my field
experience and students are more relaxed, comfortable, and open in their conversations and

actions towards one another. While my initial goal was to develop attitudes and skills that allow

me to become a better educator within the classroom, I do know that I once I am a teacher, I will

look for an after-school program to support at my school. Through my experience, I have

realized one can impact students in more personal ways in informal settings, where conversation

does not have to follow specific content. In addition, I have also learned to be more patient with

others, especially when they are working at their own pace. Since this is an after-school program,

there are no state or district assessments, and the time I have with the students is more relaxed. A

greater emphasis can be spent on socializing and exchanging ideas about identities, perspectives,

and experiences. This type of education is “deeply humanistic, democratic, participatory, and

artistic” (Nieto, 2017, p. 7). I have learned that education is not necessarily just about learning

content and providing a safe and social space for learners is just as important.
 References

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed: With an introduction by Donaldo Macedo. New

York: Continuum.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: aka the remix. Harvard

Educational Review, 84(1), 74-84.

Nieto, S. (2017). Re-imagining multicultural education: New visions, new possibilities.

Multicultural Education Review, 9(1), 1-10.