"My Brain Does Not Function That Way": Comparing Quilters' Perceptions and Motivations Towards Computing and Quilting

Abstract

The systemic, mathematical, and procedural underpinnings of quilting make the domain a useful metaphor for introductory Computer Science (CS) education, although it is currently used primarily in K-16 educational settings. Considering informal CS education for adult women, we examine the potential depth of this metaphor by exploring how skilled craftspeople engage with and understand quilting-as-metaphor in the context of CS education. In this paper we report the findings of our first focus group with quilters to compare their perceptions and experiences related to quilting and CS. We identified six common themes in how quilters relate the two domains: innate versus learned skills, computing skills as an aid to personal expression, avoiding computing, time investment and tangible rewards, community influence on motivation and learning, and systematic prejudice and its effects. We elaborate upon our findings and discuss potential applications to the design of educational technologies that integrate craft and computation.