Authors:
Marco Braga, Gustavo Guttmann, Luis Gustavo Dionysio, Roni Costa
Abstract:
This article aims to examine collaboration processes among deaf students in STEM Labs. Collaboration is the basis of technological innovation. Currently, few deaf people work in technology careers worldwide. It is observed that deaf people use visual language, and it is essential to create open work environments that allow interaction among deaf individuals. Therefore, a simple change to the furniture’s configuration can significantly expand how information is transmitted. A STEM Lab was configured in two ways, and cameras recorded student interactions over a specific period. After mapping these flows, social network analysis software was used to visualize the established networks in each configuration. The highest collaboration rate was obtained using a cross-shaped workbench. This workbench proved to be the ideal format for STEM Labs for deaf students.
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Authors:
Francisca Carocca P.
Abstract:
This paper examines how epistemic justice can be advanced through the cultural and linguistic adaptation of early childhood computer science curricula. While STEAM education initiatives often aim to democratize access to technology, they frequently reproduce epistemic hierarchies that favor Western, male, and technocentric ways of knowing. Drawing on theories of epistemic injustice, culturally responsive computing, and early childhood pedagogy, this study explores how the Coding as Another Language (CAL)–ScratchJr curriculum can be localized to redistribute epistemic authority and validate diverse knowledge systems. FCP would like to extend her sincere gratitude to all the partners and team members whose dedication made this work possible. Their contributions throughout the process have been invaluable. Using a multi-site qualitative case study approach, we analyze interviews with three international teams from Greece, Portugal, and Uruguay, demonstrating that adaptation is not merely a technical or linguistic task, but an epistemic practice that involves balancing global frameworks with local pedagogical traditions, linguistic repertoires, and cultural narratives. Ultimately, the paper proposes an adaptation model that advocates for rethinking curriculum adaptation as a process of epistemic redistribution, valuing multiple ways of knowing, empowering teachers, and broadening the recognition of who can be considered a legitimate knower in the global landscape of computing education.
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Authors:
Carlos Alberto Peláez, Leonardo Saavedra Munar, Johann Alexis Ospina Galíndez, Andrés Solano
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly Generative AI (GenAI), is reshaping higher education by transforming how students learn and engage with information. This study explores the role of GenAI assistants in fostering critical thinking, a core competency for navigating an era of rapid technological change. Conducted with students from the Multimedia Design course at the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia, the research compared two versions of the GenAI assistant: a standard model and one configured with Hegelian dialectics to stimulate reflective dialogue. While quantitative results showed no statistically significant differences between groups, qualitative insights revealed that the dialectical assistant promoted deeper analytical and evaluative thinking. The study underscores the need for sustainable process models in teacher training to integrate GenAI responsibly, ensuring balanced skill development, ethical awareness, and long-term cognitive growth.
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Authors:
Jessica C. Blake-West, Caleb Weinstock
Abstract:
The Coding as Another Language (CAL) pedagogy frames coding as an expressive language that supports creativity, communication, and character development in early childhood education. Building on this framework, this paper presents an early exploration of CAL-ScratchJr Bots, a cross-age educational robotics (ER) extension to the CAL curriculum, which integrates physical computing and virtue-based exploration. This intervention invited cross-age student pairs to design, build, and program robots as characters within a class-wide storytelling project. Through a case study of one eighth grader’s experience, this paper examines how cross-grade, problem-based robotics activities can foster virtue exploration and discovery in older peers. Findings highlight moments in which the older student balances ambition and responsibility, and leadership and humility, as he negotiates his role within the collaboration. These observations suggest that cross-age ER experiences can cultivate both computational and moral literacies, positioning the CAL-ScratchJr Bots curriculum as a meaningful context for learning that is simultaneously technical, creative, and virtue-focused.
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Authors:
Stamatios Papadakis
Abstract:
Computational thinking (CT) and coding are increasingly recognized as foundational literacies that shape how children think, communicate, and participate in digital society. Yet in early childhood education, they are still too often taught as isolated technical skills rather than as expressive tools for creativity, ethical reflection, and civic engagement. This paper presents a university seminar for preservice kindergarten teachers built around the Coding as Another Language (CAL) framework and the ScratchJr environment. Grounded in constructionism, socio-emotional learning (SEL), and the Positive Technological Development (PTD) framework, CAL reframes coding as a language through which children can tell stories, explore values such as empathy and justice, and critically engage with technology. The seminar integrates unplugged and plugged activities, design-based learning principles, reflective practice, and culturally contextualized materials to help future educators design and facilitate values-oriented coding experiences. Analysis of student reflections, project work, and instructor observations shows how preservice teachers’ conceptions of coding evolve from procedural skills to a broader humanistic literacy. Their reflections reveal a marked shift in how they understand coding’s expressive, ethical, and pedagogical potential before and after the course. Situated within current research on CT, curriculum design, and multidimensional assessment, the paper argues for sustainable teacher preparation models that treat coding as both a cognitive tool and a medium for fostering human values, critical thinking, and inclusive participation from the earliest years.
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Authors:
Marina Bers
Abstract:
Over three years, the DevTech Research Group convened an international network of educational institutions across seven countries to support the localization, implementation, and evaluation of the Coding as Another Language (CAL)–ScratchJr curriculum. This collaboration culminated in the 2025 international symposium “A Palette of Virtues: A Humanistic Education through Computer Science,” where practitioners and researchers reflected on their pedagogical practices using the Palette of Virtues Reflection Tool and the continuum of playpen to playground learning environments. Across diverse cultural contexts, participants examined how coding playgrounds can cultivate virtues such as curiosity, perseverance, generosity, and gratitude through creative, collaborative engagement with technology. Emerging insights suggest that when early CS education intentionally integrates technical instruction with opportunities for reflection and moral choice, it can serve as a powerful context for human formation. Framed within the broader dialogue between STEM and the liberal arts, this work positions the teaching of coding as a humanistic endeavor focused on digital formation by providing opportunities for self-directed learning, critical thinking and relational processes that lead to empowerment and self-actualization. Drawing on the tradition of virtue ethics, participants in the symposium explored the potential of teaching computer science as a path to human flourishing rather than merely job preparation or utility.
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Authors:
René Fabián Zúñiga Muñoz, Angela María Muñoz Muñoz, Marcos Román-González, Gregorio Robles
Abstract:
This paper presents the evolution of the Computational Thinking Measuring Model (CTMM) within university contexts, integrating generative artificial intelligence tools as methodological support. It describes the gradual and reflective process of refining performance indicators, contextualizing them within engineering courses, and analyzing two new components: verification understood as the critical validation of responses provided by AI and ethics conceived as the reflection on the responsible use of these technologies in academic settings. The results demonstrate that the CTMM maintains its theoretical coherence and practical applicability, consolidating itself as a comprehensive instrument for evaluating computational thinking in higher education. The paper outlines the process of evolution and validation of the CTMM within university contexts, integrating generative artificial intelligence as a methodological tool to strengthen the assessment of computational thinking. The findings confirm the model’s relevance to engineering education and its capacity to promote reflective, ethical, and sustainable practices in the use of emerging technologies in educational environments.
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Authors:
Renato Kazuo Miyamoto, Wesley Candido da Silva, Vicente de Lima Gongora, Juliani Chico Piai Paiva
Abstract:
This paper presents the design and validation of a low-cost educational platform for teaching photovoltaic systems in evening engineering programs. The proposed system integrates artificial irradiance, single-axis tracking, and power conversion stages within a structured Project-Based Learning (PBL) framework organized into three Learning Journeys. The artificial lighting model was implemented using a fifth-degree polynomial fit ( $R^{2} \gt 0.97$ ), and the tracking mechanism reduced voltage variability by approximately 75%. The push-pull DC/DC converter achieved 78% efficiency at 50 W nominal operation, while the inverter stage produced a stable 60 Hz waveform with 18% THD, suitable for laboratory experimentation. Educational assessment involving 44 students indicated positive perceived impact on applied learning and competency development. The proposed solution provides an economically accessible and technically viable alternative for photovoltaic laboratory implementation independent of daylight conditions.
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Authors:
Erika Victoria Sztyrle
Abstract:
In April 2025, third-grade students at Arlene Fern Community School engaged in Pesaj’s Code: We Choose the Road!, an interdisciplinary project developed around Pesaj (Passover), the Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. The initiative invited children to explore Jewish history, values, and identity through digital storytelling. Using ScratchJr, students collaborated in small groups to animate key moments of the Exodus narrative, integrating Spanish, Hebrew, and coding as a triple-literacy creative experience. The project followed the Coding as Another Language (CAL) framework developed by Prof. Marina Umaschi Bers, which positions programming as a medium for meaning-making, expression, communication, and ethical reflection. Students storyboarded scenes, selected characters and actions, incorporated Hebrew vocabulary, and translated their ideas into code while collaboratively shaping interpretations of the Exodus narrative. Educators’ reflections highlight how coding functioned not only as a technical skill supporting computational thinking but also as a language for cultural storytelling, enabling students to connect with Jewish traditions while expressing values such as freedom, resilience, and empowerment. This article describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of the project, illustrating how CAL principles can support social-emotional learning and values-based, cross-curricular experiences in early elementary education.
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Authors:
Avia Ben-Ari
Abstract:
This study examines how educators implementing the Coding as Another Language CAL) curriculum in elementary classrooms perceive and prioritize moral virtues across personal and professional domains, and how these perceptions shape their teacher identity. Building on Identity Theory and the CAL -based Palette of Virtues framework, this study operationalizes moral identity through two constructs: virtue prominence (the centrality of a virtue within one’s perceived self-concept) and virtue salience (the stability of a virtue across contexts). Using Bers’ Palette of Virtues as both a conceptual and analytic lens, CAL educators (N= 24) reflected on the virtues characterizing their personal and professional identities, rating their perceived virtue importance in each context. Quantitative analyses revealed virtue-level shifts across roles and distinctive identity profiles for each domain. The virtues of forgiveness, patience, and fairness emerged as more prominent in professional selves, while honesty, curiosity, and gratitude decreased. Open-mindedness, generosity, optimism, and perseverance were the most salient virtues across contexts. Findings indicate that while educators’ professional identity integrates personal authenticity with social responsibility, it also reflects tensions between intrapersonal and interpersonal moral orientations. Results emphasize moral self-awareness as an essential component of professional competence, complementing disciplinary expertise. The study highlights the potential of virtue-mapping activities–such as the one facilitated by the Palette of Virtues reflection tool–as practical means for teacher training and professional development, fostering coherent moral identity and addressing longstanding challenges in teacher identity research.
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