College of Education and Human Development

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Cassie Scharber

  • Pronouns: she, her, hers

  • Associate Professor of Learning Technologies, Director of the L+T Collaborative, Bonnie Westby Huebner Chair in Education and Technology

  • Office Hours

    by appointment

Cassie Scharber

Areas of interest

K12 computer science education, technology integration, online teaching and learning, (critical) digital literacies, interpretive case study, research-practice partnerships

Degrees

PhD, University of Minnesota
Learning Technologies
Literacy Education

Biography

 I am troubled by the narrow conceptions and practices of literacy and learning that proliferate in schools and current educational inequalities that are rooted in the gendered, racist, and classist histories of U.S. schooling. My scholarship, service, and teaching explore and challenge these issues.

I am a community-engaged scholar and former K12 teacher. With my colleagues at the L+T Collaborative, I lead long-term research-practice partnerships with local school districts focused on technology integration, computer science education, and online learning. I also am involved with CSforAll-MN, a collective effort committed to advancing equitable computer science education policies and opportunities for every K12 student in Minnesota.

Research Grant-Funded Projects

DataX: Exploring Justice-Oriented Data Science with Secondary School Students (2021-2023) (Co-PI)

SciGirls Code: A national connected learning model to integrate computing in STEM learning for middle school girls (2015-2018) (Co-PI)

Bright Stars: Technology-mediated settings for urban youth as pathways for engaged learning (2015-2019) (PI)

Classes taught

  • CI 5330 - Computer Science for K12 Educators
  • CI 5331 - Introduction to Learning Technologies
  • CI 5323 - Online Learning Communities
  • CI 8149 - Qualitative Research: Coding, Analysis, Interpretation, and Writing
  • CI 8350 - Readings and Research in Learning Technologies
  • CI 8391 - Learning Technologies Seminar: Academic Writing
Publications

Scharber, C., Peterson, L., Chang, Y., Barksdale, S., & Sivaraj, R. (2021). Critical computing literacy: Possibilities in K-12 computer science education. Pedagogies: An International Journal. 16(2), 136-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2021.1914055

Scharber, C., Peterson, L., Baskin, K., Cabeen, J., Gustafson, D. & Alberts, J. (2021). A research-practice partnership about K12 technology integration: Technology as a catalyst for teaching learning through failure and creative risk-taking. Tech Trends, 65, 626-635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00621-9

Barksdale, S., Scharber, C., & Chang, Y. (2021). Team Mensa: A case study of supporting middle school girls’ interest in computer science through an informal learning program. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2020.1864239 

Lewis, C., Crampton, A., & Scharber, C. (2021). The sociocultural role of imagination in critical digital literacy. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 16(2), 154-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2021.1914056 

Peterson, L., Scharber, C., Thuesen, A., & Baskin, K. (2020, June). A rapid response to COVID-19: One district’s pivot from technology integration to distance learning. Information and Learning Sciences. 121(5/6), 461-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-04-2020-0131

Crampton, A., Scharber, C., Lewis, C., & Majors, Y. (March/April, 2018). Meaningful and expansive: Literacy learning through technology-mediated productions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(5), 573-576.

Ouyang, F., & Scharber, C. (2018). Adapting the TPACK framework for online teaching within higher education. International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design, 8(1), 42-59. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5631-2.ch051

Peterson, L., & Scharber, C. (2017). Lessons from a one-to-one laptop pilot. Computers in the Schools, 34(1-2), 60-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2017.1296328

Scharber, C., Pazurek, A., & Ouyang, F. (2017). Illuminating the (in)visibility of female scholars in educational technology publishing from 2004-2015. Gender and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2017.1290219

Scharber, C., Isaacson, K., Pyscher, T., & Lewis, C. (2016). Participatory culture meets critical practice: Documentary film production in a youth internship program. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 15(3), 355-374.