Tuesday, June 20, 2023 3:00 pm
-
4:00 pm
EDT (GMT -04:00)
Speaker: Sophie Morgan
Respondent: Sarah Casey
Abstract: Code surrounds us: in the subterranean texts of our technologies, in video games, in public spaces as QR codes, and, as of 2020, in the Ontario Kindergarten to Grade 8 (K-8) mathematics curriculum. In response to this recent addition, this talk explores and unearths the social and political consequences of code’s increasing ubiquity through the case of the provincial mathematics curriculum and its current positioning of code education. This talk will begin with a discussion of my motivation for the work, followed by an explanation of my methodological approach, which included a critical discourse analysis of the 2020 Ontario K-8 mathematics curriculum. I will then discuss my preliminary findings, which indicate that the provincial government positions code as a neutral implement designed for productivity, devoid of human agency and engagement. In other words, this curricular document presents code as a neutral, abstract, unquestionable mathematical tool rather than a dynamic, personal, and rhetorical literacy. Ultimately, in its current state, I argue that the curriculum dangerously shapes students’ understanding of technology and fails to address technologically driven injustices. This talk will conclude with the prompt that, if we take seriously these findings, the insights gathered here will help scholars, educators, parents, and professionals more fully understand the effects of this curricular document on the teaching of computational literacy and, in turn, on those who learn and thus enact it.
Speaker Bio: Sophie Morgan (she/her/hers) is a master’s student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design stream. She received her Honours BA from York University in 2022 in French Studies and Professional Writing with specializations in Digital Authoring and Organizational Writing. Her research focuses on rhetoric, computational literacy, literacy studies, curriculum design, and organizational communication. Sophie is currently exploring the intersections of these interests in her major research paper.
BONUS:
Following
the
presentation,
join
SAGE
representatives
at
the
Grad
House
for
a
Socialize
with
Sage
event
from
4:30-6:00
pm.
IN-PERSON
ATTENDANCE:
Location:
Hagey
Hall,
Room
232
ONLINE
ATTENDANCE:
WebEx
Link:
https://uwaterloo.webex.com/uwaterloo/j.php?MTID=mf6419b9582575ae79b464a4b279a4013
Meeting
number:
2313
454
3724
Password:
preslecture