At a St. Paul library this fall, adults will gather to learn how to build websites from scratch. Macalester student Alara Yener \u201928 spent the summer thinking through what those learners will need to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She helped prepare for the third year of a free, eight-week website development workshop for adults. The program introduces participants to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as they learn to build their own website, often for a new or existing business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Led by Joslenne Pe\u00f1a, assistant professor of mathematics, statistics, and computer science, the workshop is designed for adults who are not pursuing careers in computer science. It also aims to reach people who have not always felt represented or welcomed in computer science spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe specifically target populations such as queer and BIPOC people because a lot of the time, classrooms for computer science aren\u2019t necessarily super inclusive,\u201d Yener said. \u201cWe intentionally tried to create an inclusive environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A political science and data science major, Yener spent much of the summer laying the groundwork for the workshop. She conducted community outreach, reviewed research on adult computer science education, and visited libraries to find an accessible location. This year\u2019s workshop will be held at George Latimer Central Library in downtown St. Paul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The library visits became one of her favorite parts of the project. Librarians offered ideas for navigating logistical challenges, including finding spaces open late enough for adults to attend after work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yener\u2019s previous experience teaching English learners also shaped how she approached another challenge: participants arrive with varying levels of technology experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes in past workshops, some people were able to move a lot quicker through things, but then didn\u2019t have anything to do because they were waiting for people who were brand new to technology,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yener suggested creating additional curriculum options for participants ready to move ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project follows a design-based research model, with the workshop adjusted each year based on participant feedback and lessons from previous sessions. Researchers examine participants\u2019 confidence in solving technology-related problems, motivations for enrolling, experiences with technology at work, and plans for using their new skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the project\u2019s only student researcher this summer, Yener worked closely with Pe\u00f1a to explore areas that interested her, including pedagogy and curriculum design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s very accommodating and says, if there\u2019s something specific in the project that you really want to work on, we can do a deep dive into that,\u201d Yener said. \u201cIt was nice to be listened to on a project I care about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generative AI has added another question for the research team: What does it mean to learn coding when AI can produce code from a simple prompt? Yener said the team is exploring how to incorporate AI responsibly while maintaining the workshop\u2019s focus on problem-solving and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fall, Yener will continue with the project as a teaching assistant. For her, the workshop\u2019s value goes beyond mastering HTML or JavaScript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter if you know how to code,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about how your brain works and how you approach solving problems in a new and different way.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alara Yener \u201928 helps shape an inclusive coding workshop for adults<\/p>","protected":false},"author":881,"featured_media":33715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[52,22],"class_list":["post-33713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement","tag-mathematics-statistics-and-computer-science","tag-political-science","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t