The Use of DJing Tasks as a Pedagogical Bridge to Learning Data Structures

Abstract

Computing is a field that needs to make more strides to have workforce that matches the racial and ethnic diversity found in the population of the United States. The author of the study aims to address this problem, by using course materials that incorporate the culture of students taking computer science courses. Geneva Gay [5] mentions in her theory of culturally responsive pedagogy that it's critical for instructors to embed the students' culture in their course materials, so students can use their own experiences to understand concepts. The study explores how DJing tasks (such as creating, editing and iterating through playlists) can be used to teach students about data structures. Participants in the study were drawn from a convenience sample in a 15-week sophomore course in data structures at a small liberal arts college. 16 of the 24 students fully participated in the study, and all of the respondents were Black women pursuing a major or a minor in computer science. The students were taught with examples that used Black music as a context throughout the course, and were tasked with creating software for a drum machine or a DJ controller as a final project. Study participants were asked via a web survey to compare example problems presented in a music based context to examples they had seen in the course text. Students were also asked to reflect on the experiences they had engaging in the final project.