In collaboration with Dr. Natalie Rusk from the Lifelong Kindergarten group in MIT Media Lab, we are investigating the design of culturally responsive computational learning media for children using the OctoStudio Kit, i.e., how to support young learners’ cultural identities and preferences in programming tools, particularly for historically marginalized groups in computing and children from non-Western contexts. Within this research thread, we are examining the role of cultural assets in computational learning among young learners, investigating how existing computational learning tools do or do not support these cultural assets, as well as developing design guidelines for learning technologies to optimally support culturally responsive learning for young people.

Coding as Cultural Expression: Understanding How Children Draw on and Transform Cultural Resources [PDF; Poster]
Zhiye Fang, Yuiqi Wang, Jianning Hu, Qi Yang, Lianmei Dong, Yubo Kou, & Junnan Yu
In 6th Annual Meeting of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS Annual Meeting 2026), Irvine, CA, USA.