How Computer Science Can Promote Literacy

More crucial than ever is the need to promote literacy across all academic disciplines in K-12 classrooms. As we continue to transition technology into the classroom, integrating intentional and meaningful digital experiences for students to grow in literacy is becoming increasingly more important. Research is in favor of using computer science as a means to support literacy.?

According to the study If You Can Program, You Can Write, computer science and literacy have “underlying constructs that overlap.” Within the subject of computer science, students learn to read and write using a computer’s programming language (i.e. code) just as people learn to read and write human languages. When learning to program, students must learn a new set of grammar, conventions, and syntax. Students need to understand the rules, structure, and vocabulary of the programming language in order to create an effective dialogue with the computer. Computational Thinking and Literacy notes that computer science engages students in learning “how to formulate thoughts and express oneself in a manner that is accessible to a computer to achieve desired results.”?

It’s not lost on educators that cross-curricular instruction deepens students’ content knowledge as well as broadens their opportunities to apply their learned skills to different subjects. For example, an informational text in a history class allows students to engage with text features and challenging vocabulary that, in turn, requires students to tap into their reading skills for a better understanding of the subject matter.?

While computer science is a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) discipline, like so many of our STEM disciplines, it innately supports literacy.

Article written by Bridget Mitchell, AiTudier Copywriter