Exploring African American Middle-School Girls' Perceptions of Themselves as Game Designers

Computational algorithmic thinking (CAT) is the ability to design, implement, and assess the implementation of algorithms to solve a range of problems. Supporting Computational Algorithmic Thinking (SCAT) is a longitudinal project that explores the development of CAT capabilities by guiding African American middle-school girls through the iterative game design cycle, resulting in a set of complex games around broad themes. This paper explores African American middle-school girls' (called SCAT Scholars) perspectives of their SCAT experience and perceptions of themselves as game designers.