The Pathway to Achieving Classroom Equity: Computational and Critical Thinking through Storytelling and 3D Models

This manuscript is part of a larger project and is an inter-disciplinary effort, dedicated to discovering answers to the following questions: 1) Do storytelling and story making serve as effective means to teach computer science to middle school youth? And 2) Can the integration of computing skills into the core middle school curriculum increase instruction and student learning of these skills? A description of how our project supports equity in the classroom introduces the reader to a new teaching concept that combines Indigenous narrative “Storytelling” with computer science components. We achieved the integration of CS and Storytelling through lesson plans developed utilizing the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework, to best capture the intended results. To answer the question of instruction effectiveness, best practices, and integration of cultural materials, we found it essential to discuss team alignment with the Montana Indian Education for All (IEFA) Act, tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) (Brayboy, 2006) and the 7 Essential Understandings. Likewise, teacher positioning in classroom and pedagogies that reflect current education transformation trends, are essential topics in our discussion.