Journal Article

oaTeaching coding inclusively

Guest, Olivia, bes, Samuel H

2024

Overview

We present our stance on teaching programming with the aim of increasing reflexivity amongst university educators through dissecting and destroying pervasive anti-pedagogical gendered framings. From the so-called male geek trope that dominates Global North/Western perceptions of technology to the actively anti-feminist stances such demographics espouse: programming has a sexism problem. Herein, we touch on how and why programming is so gendered in the present; we expound on how we manage this in our classrooms and in our mentorship relationships; and we explain how to keep doing so moving forwards. Through weaving examples of programming into the text, it is demonstrated that basic coding concepts can be conveyed with little effort. Additionally, example dialogues – exchanges between teachers and students and between educators – are worked through to counteract inappropriate or harmful framings. Finally, we list some ground rules, concrete dos and don’ts, for us to consider going forwards. Ultimately, as educators, we have a twofold obligation, for our students to a) learn programming, and for them to b) unlearn problematic perceptions of who can code.

• Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
• Subject: Computer & video games / Computer science / Computers / Patriarchy / Pedagogy / Programming languages / Sexism / Skills / Students / Teachers / Teaching