Publication

Much attention in constructionism has focused on the design of learning tools and support for students building artifacts. Far less attention has been placed on reflection and reflective artifacts that let students consider their own learning. In this paper we share an analysis of portfolios in which high school students reflected on the design of their electronic textile projects during an eight-week curricular unit in an Exploring Computer Science class, an introductory computing course for high school (secondary) students in the United States. We examine portfolios as sites of student self-authorship: places where students showed agency in positioning themselves in relation to how they made their e-textile projects and to computer science more generally. In the discussion we consider the implications of reflective portfolios as objects-to-learn-with for educational implementation and constructionist pedagogy.