Papers

• Blake-West, J., & Bers, M. U. (2023). ScratchJr Connect: Sharing resources for digital making around the world. Montréal, QC, Canada: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

• Yang, Z. & Bers, M. (2023). Examining gender difference in the use of scratchjr in a programming curriculum for first graders. Computer Science Education.

• Bers, M. U., Blake-West , J., Kapoor, M. G., Levinson, T., Relkin, E., Unahalekhaka, A., & Yang, Z. (2023). Coding as another language: Research-based curriculum for early childhood computer science. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 64, 394–404. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.05.002

• Relkin, E., Johnson, S. K., & Bers, M. U. (2023). A Normative Analysis of the TechCheck Computational Thinking Assessment. Educational Technology & Society, 26(2), 118-130. https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202304_26(2).0009

• Kapoor, M. G., Yang, Z., & Bers. M. (2023). Supporting Early Elementary Teachers’ Coding Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Through Virtual Professional Development. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 30 (4). 1-31. 2023.

— 2022 —

• Levinson, T. & Bers, M.U. (April 2022). Contrasting Perspectives in Computational Thinking Special Education. In Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: The State of Our Burgeoning Field [Working Roundtable]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

• Levinson, T., & Bers, M. U. (2022). Student Centered Computational Thinking for Children with Disabilities. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

• Bers, M., A. Strawhacker & A. Sullivan (2022), “The state of the field of computational thinking in early childhood education”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 274, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3354387a-en.

• Strawhacker, A., Relkin, E., & Bers, M.U. (2022). Designing an Adaptive Assessment for Preschool Children’s Robotics Knowledge. Educational Designer, 4(15). ISSN 1759-1325. Retrieved from: http://www.educationaldesigner.org/ed/volume4/issue15/article60/

• Unahalekhaka, A., & Bers, M. U. (2022). Clustering Young Children’s Coding Project Scores with Machine Learning. 2022 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON52537.2022.9766579

• Strawhacker, A., Govind, M., & Bers, M. U., (2022, April 21-26). Understanding the Experiences of Early Childhood Professionals’ Navigation of Remote Teaching and Learning With Technology [Paper Presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. https://www.aera.net/Publications/Online-Paper-Repository/AERA-Online-Paper-Repository

• Ben-Ari, A., Levinson, T., Bers, M.U., & Rosenberg-Kima, R.B., (2022, March 2-5). Coding as a Self-Expression Tool [Presentation]. Providence, RI, United States: the Association of Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education 54th Annual Technical Symposium.

• Bers, M.U. (2022) Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Human Values through Programming. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

• Unahalekhaka, A., Bers, M.U. (2022). Evaluating young children’s creative coding: rubric development and testing for ScratchJr projects. Educ Inf Technol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10873-w

— 2021 —

• Bers, M. (2021). Coding, robotics and socio-emotional learning: developing a palette of virtues PIXEL-BIT. Revista de Medios y Educación, 62, 309-322.

• Bers, M. (Ed.). (2021). Teaching Computational Thinking and Coding to Young Children. IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-7308-2

• de Ruiter, L. E. & Bers, M. U. (2021). The Coding Stages Assessment: development and validation of an instrument for assessing young children’s proficiency in the ScratchJr programming language. Computer Science Education. DOI: 10.1080/08993408.2021.1956216

• Sullivan, A., & Strawhacker, A. (2021). Screen-Free STEAM: Low-Cost and Hands-on Approaches to Teaching Coding and Engineering to Young Children. In S. Garvis & C. Cohrssen (Eds.), Embedding STEAM in Early Childhood Education and Care (pp. 87-113). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

• Unahalekhaka, A., & Bers, M. U. (2021). Taking coding home: Analysis of ScratchJr usage in home and school settings. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10011-w

• Relkin, E., de Ruiter, L.E., Bers, M.U. (2021). Learning to Code and the Acquisition of Computational Thinking by Young Children. Computers & Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104222

• Relkin E. &, Bers, M. (2021). TechCheck-K: A Measure of Computational Thinking for Kindergarten Children. In 2021 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). IEEE. pp. 1696-1702, https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON46332.2021.9453926.

• Relkin, E. & Bers, M. U. (2021). Factors Influencing Learning of Computational Thinking Skills in Young  Children. Virtual Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

— 2020 —

• Govind, M. & Bers, M. U. (2020). Family Coding Days: Engaging Children and Parents in Creative Coding and Robotics. Connected Learning Summit, Cambridge, MA

• Ivanova, A., Srikant, S., Sueoka Y., Kean, H., Dhamala, R., O’Reilly, U., Bers, M., Fedorenko, E., (2020). Comprehension of computer code relies primarily on domain-general executive brain regions eLife 2020, DOI: 10.7554/eLife.58906

• Bers, M. (2020). Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom, Second Edition. New York, NY: Routledge Press.

• Bers, M. (2020) Playgrounds and Microworlds: Learning to Code in Early Childhood in Designing Constructionist Futures: The Art, Theory and Practice of Learning Designs edited by Nathan Holbert, Matthew Berland and Yasmin B Kafai.

• Relkin, E., Govind, M., Tsiang, J., & Bers, M. (2020). How Parents Support Children’s Informal Learning Experiences with Robots. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 6(1), 39-51.

• Strawhacker, A., Verish, C., Shaer, O., & Bers, M. U. (2020). Designing with Genes in Early Childhood: An exploratory user study of the tangible CRISPEE technology. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. Advance Online Publication.

• Strawhacker, A., Verish, C., Shaer, O., & Bers, M. U. (2020). Young Children’s Learning of Bioengineering with CRISPEE: A Developmentally Appropriate Tangible User Interface. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 1-21

• Strawhacker, A., de Ruiter, L., Shaer, O., & Bers, M. U. (2020, May). The Role of Picture Books in supporting Young Children’s Learning about Bioengineering [Poster session]. SRCD 2020 Special Topic Meeting: Learning through Play and Imagination, St. Louis, Missouri.

• Strawhacker, A., Verish, C., Shaer, O., & Bers, M. U. (2020, April). Debugging as Inquiry in Early Childhood: A case study using the CRISPEE prototype. In K. Mills (chair), Computational Thinking for Science Learning. Symposium conducted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA.

• Relkin, E. & Bers, M. U. (2020). Exploring the Relationship Between Coding, Computational Thinking and Problem Solving in Early Elementary School Students. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA

• Relkin, E., de Ruiter., L., Bers, M. U. (2020). TechCheck: Development and Validation of an Unplugged Assessment of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education. Journal of Science Education and Technology. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-020-09831-x

• Hassenfeld, Z. R. & Bers, M. U. (2020). Debugging the Writing Process: Lessons From a Comparison of Students’ Coding and Writing Practices. The Reading Teacher, 73(6), 735-746. doi:10.1002/trtr.1885.

• Govind, M., Relkin, E., & Bers, M. U. (2020). Engaging Children and Parents to Code Together Using the ScratchJr App. Visitor Studies. DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1732184

• Govind, M. & Bers, M. U. (2020, Apr 17 – 21). “Coding Is Not My Thing”: Fostering Early Childhood Teachers’ Coding Knowledge and Attitudes [Poster Session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA

• Hassenfeld, Z. R., Govind, M., de Ruiter, L. E., & Bers, M. U. (2020). If You Can Program, You Can Write: Learning Introductory Programming Across Literacy Levels. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 19, 65-85. DOI: 10.28945/4509

— 2019 —

• Govind, M. & Bers, M. U. (2019). Parents Don’t Need to Be Coding Experts, Just Willing to Learn With Their Children. (Blog Post).

• Bers, M. U. (2019). Coding as another language: a pedagogical approach for teaching computer science in early childhood. Journal of Computers in Education, 6(4), 499-528.

• Bers, M. U. & Sullivan, A. (2019). Computer science education in early childhood: The case of ScratchJr. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 18, 113-138.

• Bers, M. U. (2019). Coding as another language In C. Donohue (Ed.), Exploring key issues in early childhood and technology: Evolving perspectives and innovative approaches (pp. 63–70). New York, NY: Routledge.

• Relkin, E. & Bers, M. U. (2019). Designing an Assessment of Computational Thinking Abilities for Young Children. In L.E. Cohen & S. Waite-Stupiansky (Eds.), STEM for Early Childhood Learners: How Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Strengthen Learning (pp. 85-98). New York, NY: Routledge.

• Ivanova, A., Srikant, S., Sueoka, Y., Kean, H., Dhamala, R., O’Reilly, U. M., Bers, M. U., & Fedorenko, E. (2019, October). The Neural Basis of Program Comprehension. Poster session presented at the Society for Neuroscience 2019, Chicago, IL.

• Fedorenko, E., Ivanova, A., Dhamala, R. & Bers, M.U. (2019). The Language of Programming: A Cognitive Perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(7), 525-528. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2019.04.010

• Hassenfeld, Z.R. & Bers, M.U. (2019). When We Teach Programming Languages as Literacy. (Blog post).

• Strawhacker, A., & Bers, M. U. (2019). What They Learn When They Learn Coding: Investigating cognitive domains and computer programming knowledge in young children. Educational Technology Research and Development, 67(3), 541-575. doi:10.1007/s11423-018-9622-x

• Bers, M. U., González-González, C., & Armas–Torres, M. B. (2019). Coding as a playground: Promoting positive learning experiences in childhood classrooms. Computers & Education, 138, 130-145.

• Horn, M. & Bers, M. (2019). Tangible Computing. In S.A. Fincher & A.V. Robins (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Computing Education Research. Cambridge University Press.

• Sullivan, A. & Bers, M.U. (2019). VEX Robotics Competitions: Gender differences in student attitudes and experiences. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 18, 97-112. doi:10.28945/4193

• Sullivan, A. A. (2019). Breaking the STEM stereotype: Reaching girls in early childhood. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

— 2018 —

• Hassenfeld, Z. R. & Bers, M.U. (2018). Computer Programming: An Unexplored Path to Jewish Literacy. (Blog post).

• Sullivan, A. & Bers, M.U. (2018). Investigating the use of robotics to increase girls’ interest in engineering during early elementary school. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 29, 1033-1051. doi:10.1007/s10798-018-9483-y

• Sullivan, A. (2018). Lessons Learned from ECT: Best Practices Teaching with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom. (Blog post).

• Bers, M. U. (2018). Coding and Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: The Impact of ScratchJr in Europe. European Journal of STEM Education, 3(3), 08. doi:10.20897/ejsteme/3868

• Strawhacker, A. and Bers, M. U. (2018). Promoting Positive Technological Development in a Kindergarten Makerspace: A Qualitative Case Study. European Journal of STEM Education, 3(3) 09. doi:10.20897/ejsteme/3869

• Sullivan, A. & Bers, M.U. (2018). The Impact of Teacher Gender on Girls’ Performance on Programming Tasks in Early Elementary School. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 17, 153-162.

• Strawhacker, A. & Bers, M. U. (2018). Makerspaces for Early Childhood Education (Principles of Space Redesign) & Maker values of early childhood educators, organizing a grassroots space. In Gravel, B. E., Bers, M. U., Rogers, C., & Danahy, E. (Eds.), Making Engineering Playful in Schools (pp. 18-29). The LEGO Foundation.

• Gravel, B. E., Bers, M. U., Rogers, C., & Danahy, E. (2018). Making Engineering Playful in Schools. The LEGO Foundation.

• Elkin, M., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2018). Books, Butterflies, and ‘Bots: Integrating Engineering and Robotics into Early Childhood Curricula. In L. English and T. Moore (Eds.), Early Engineering Learning (225-248). Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-8621-2_11

• Bers, M. U. (2018, April 17-20). Coding, Playgrounds and Literacy in Early Childhood Education: The Development of KIBO Robotics and ScratchJr. Paper presented at the IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (pp. 2100 – 2108).

• Albo-Canals, J., Barco, A., Relkin, E., Hannon, D., Heerink, M., Heinemann, M., Leidl, K., & Bers, M. (2018). A Pilot Study of the KIBO Robot in Children with Severe ASD. International Journal of Social Robotics, 10(3), 371-383. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s12369-018-0479-2

• Strawhacker, A., Sullivan, A., Verish, C., Bers, M.U., & Shaer, O. (2018). Enhancing Children’s Interest and Knowledge in Bioengineering through an Interactive Videogame. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 17, 55-81. doi: https://doi.org/10.28945/3976

• Bers, M.U. (2018). Coding as a Literacy for the 21st Century. (Blog post)

• Bers, M. U., Strawhacker, A. L., & Vizner, M. (2018). The design of early childhood makerspaces to support Positive Technological Development: Two case studies. Library Hi Tech. doi: 10.1108/LHT-06-2017-0112.

• Verish, C., Strawhacker, A. Bers, M. U., & Shaer, O. (2018, March 18-21). CRISPEE: A Tangible Gene Editing Platform for Early Childhood: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI), Stockholm, Sweden. New York, NY: ACM.

• Hilliard, L., Buckingham M. H., Geldhof, J. G., Ganset, P., Stack C., Gelgoot, E. S., Bers M. U., Lerner, R. M. (2018). Perspective taking and decision-making in educational game play: A mixed-methods study. Applied Developmental Science 22(1), 1-13. doi:10.1080/10888691.2016.1204918

• Bers, M.U. (2018). Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom. New York, NY: Routledge Press.

–2017–

• Leidl, K., Bers, M.U., Mihm, C. (2017). Programming with ScratchJr: a review of the first year of user analytics: Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education. Wanchai, Hong Kong.

• Sullivan, A., Bers, M.U., Mihm, C. (2017). Imagining, Playing, & Coding with KIBO: Using KIBO Robotics to Foster Computational Thinking in Young Children: Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education. Wanchai, Hong Kong.

• Loparev, A., Sullivan, A., Verish, C., Westendorf, L., Davis, J., Flemings, M., Bers, M.U., & Shaer, O. (2017). BacToMars: Creative Engagement with Bio-Design for Children: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC). Stanford, CA.

• Sullivan, A., Strawhacker, A., & Bers, M.U. (2017). Dancing, drawing, and dramatic robots: Integrating robotics and the arts to teach foundational STEAM concepts to young children. In Khine, M.S. (Ed.) Robotics in STEM Education: Redesigning the Learning Experience. (pp. 231-260). Springer Publishing.

• Sullivan, A. & Bers, M.U. (2017). Computational Thinking and Young Children: Understanding the Potential of Tangible and Graphical Interfaces. In Ozcinar, H., Wong, G., & Ozturk, T. (Eds.) Teaching Computational Thinking in Primary Education. IGI Global.

• Loparev, A., Sullivan, A., Verish, C., Westendorf, L., Davis, J., Flemings, M., Bers, M.U., & Shaer, O. (2017). BacToMars: A Collaborative Educational Video Game for Teaching Biological Engineering: Proceedings of Foundations of Digital Interactive Games (FDG). Hyannis, MA, August 14-17.

• Pugnali, A., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2017). The Impact of User Interface on Young Children’s Computational Thinking. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 16, 172-193.

• Strawhacker, A. L., Lee, M. S. C., & Bers, M. U. (2017). Teaching tools, teachers’ rules: exploring the impact of teaching styles on young children’s programming knowledge in ScratchJr. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. doi:10.1007/s10798-017-9400-9

• Bers, M. U. (2017). The Seymour test: Powerful ideas in early childhood education. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.

• Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2017). Dancing robots: Integrating art, music, and robotics in Singapore’s early childhood centers. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10798-017-9397-0

–2016–

• Vizner, M., & Strawhacker, A. (2016). Curious Construction Kit: A programmable building kit for early childhood: Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education (FabLearn), Stanford, CA, October 14-16. New York, NY: ACM.

• Elkin, M., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2016). Programming with the KIBO Robotics Kit in Preschool Classrooms. Computers in the Schools, 33(3), 169-186. doi:10.1080/07380569.2016.1216251

• Sullivan, A. & Bers, M. U. (2016). Girls, boys, and bots: Gender differences in young children’s performance on robotics and programming tasks. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 15, 145-165

• Strawhacker, A., Sullivan, A., & Portsmore, M. (2016). Billund Builds Music: An Engineering Education Initiative in Danish Kindergartens. Paper presented at the IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC). (pp. 257-261).

— 2015 —

• Apone, K., Bers, M., Brennan, K., Franklin, D., Israel, M., & Yongpradit, P. (2015). Bringing Grade K-5 to the Mainstream of Computer Science Education SIGCSE ’15: Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 671-672.

• Bers, M.U. & Resnick, M. (2015). The Official ScratchJr Book. San Francisco, CA: No Starch Press

• Portelance, D.J., Strawhacker, A., & Bers, M.U. (2015). Constructing the ScratchJr programming language in the early childhood classroom. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 1-16. doi:10.1007/s10798-015-9325-0

• Strawhacker, A. L., & Bers, M. U. (2015). “I want my robot to look for food”: Comparing children’s programming comprehension using tangible, graphical, and hybrid user interfaces. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 25(3), 293-319. doi:10.1007/s10798-014-9287-7

• Sullivan, A., Elkin, M., & Bers, M. U. (2015). KIBO Robot Demo: Engaging young children in programming and engineering: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’15), Medford, MA, June 21-25. New York, NY: ACM

• Portelance, D.J., & Bers, M.U. (2015). Code and Tell: Assessing young children’s learning of computational thinking using peer video interviews with ScratchJr: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’15). Medford, MA, June 21-25. New York, NY: ACM.

• Strawhacker, A., Lee, M., Caine, C., & Bers, M.U. (2015). ScratchJr Demo: A coding language for Kindergarten: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’15). Medford, MA, June 21-25. New York, NY: ACM.

• Strawhacker, A., Portelance, D., Lee, M., & Bers, M.U. (2015). Designing Tools for Developing Minds: The role of child development in educational technology: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’15). Medford, MA, June 21-25. New York, NY: ACM.

• Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2015). Robotics in the early childhood classroom: Learning outcomes from an 8-week robotics curriculum in pre-kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Technology and Design Education.

• Hilliard, L., Buckingham, M., Geldhof, G. J., Bers, M.U., & Lerner, R. (2015, December 1). Educational Game Play and Ethical Decision-Making: A Mixed-Method Experimental Study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

— 2014 —

• Elkin, M., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2014). Implementing a robotics curriculum in an early childhood Montessori classroom. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 13, 153-169.

• Bers, M. U. (2014). Young programmers: Think playgrounds, not playpens. (Video File).

• Kazakoff, E.R. & Bers, M.U. (2014). Put your robot in, Put your robot out: Sequencing through programming robots in early childhood. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 50(4), 553-573.

• Bers, M. U. (2014). Tangible kindergarten: Learning how to program robots in early childhood. In Sneider, C. I. (Ed.), The Go-To Guide for Engineering Curricula PreK-5: Choosing and using the best instructional materials for your students (pp. 133-145). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

• Strawhacker, A. L., & Bers, M. U. (2014, August). ScratchJr: Computer Programming in Early Childhood Education as a Pathway to Academic Readiness and Success. Poster session presented at the DR K-12 PI Meeting, Washington, D.C.

• Flannery, L. P., & Bers, M. U. (2014). The methodological tortoise and the technological hare: A discussion of methods for conducting research on new technologies and young children. In O. Saracho (Ed.), Handbook of Research Methods in Early Childhood Education, Volume 2 (pp. 193-222). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

• Bers, M.U., Flannery, L.P., Kazakoff, E.R, & Sullivan, A. (2014) Computational thinking and tinkering: Exploration of an early childhood robotics curriculum, Computers & Education, 72, 145-157.

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2014, April). Does learning to code correlate with self-regulation skills in kindergarten classrooms? Poster session presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

— 2013 —

• Bers, M.U., Seddighin, S., & Sullivan, A. (2013). Ready for robotics: Bringing together the T and E of STEM in early childhood teacher education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(3), 355-377.

• Sullivan, A., Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2013). The Wheels on the Bot Go Round and Round: Robotics Curriculum in Pre-Kindergarten. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 12, 203-219.

• Flannery, L.P. and Bers, M.U. (2013). Let’s Dance the “Robot Hokey-Pokey!”: Children’s programming approaches and achievement throughout early cognitive development. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 46(1), 81-101.

• Flannery, L.P., Kazakoff, E.R., Bontá, P., Silverman, B., Bers, M.U., and Resnick, M. (2013). Designing ScratchJr: Support for early childhood learning through computer programming: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’13) (pp. 1-10). New York, NY: ACM. doi:10.1145/2485760.2485785

• Strawhacker, A., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2013). TUI, GUI, HUI: Is a bimodal interface truly worth the sum of its parts?: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’13) (pp. 309-312). New York, NY: ACM.

• Bers, M.U., Matas, J. & Libman, N. (2013). Livnot U’Lehibanot, To Build and To Be Built: Making Robots in Kindergarten to Explore Jewish Identity. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education: Studies of Migration, Integration, Equity, and Cultural Survival, 7(3), 164-179.

• Bers, M.U., Seddighin, S., & Sullivan, A. (2013). Ready for robotics: Bringing together the T and E of STEM in early childhood teacher education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(3), 355-377.

• Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2013). Gender differences in kindergarteners’ robotics and programming achievement. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 23(3), 691-702.

• Kazakoff, E., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2013). The effect of a classroom-based intensive robotics and programming workshop on sequencing ability in early childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(4), 245-255. doi:10.1007/s10643-012-0554-5.

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2013, April). Designing New Technologies for Early Childhood: Results From the Initial Pilot Studies of ScratchJr. Poster session presented at SRCD Society for Research in Child Development, Seattle, WA.

• Lee, K., Sullivan, A., Bers, M.U. (2013). Collaboration by design: Using robotics to foster social interaction in Kindergarten. Computers in the Schools, 30(3), 271-281.

• Puerto, A., & Rabin, L. (n.d.). Comparing Curricula for ScratchJr, and Early Childhood Programming Tool.

— 2012 —

• Osterweil, S., Bers, M., & Stidwill, P. (2012, October). Quandary: Building Capacity in Ethical Decision Making. Poster session presented at Meaningful Play, East Lansing, MI.

• Bers, M., Doyle-Lynch, A., & Chau, C. (2012). Positive technological development: The multifaceted nature of youth technology use toward improving self and society. In Ching, C. C. & Foley, B. J. (Eds.) Constructing the Self in a Digital World (pp. 110-136). New York: Cambridge University Press.

• Kazakoff, E., & Bers, M. (2012). Programming in a robotics context in the kindergarten classroom: The impact on sequencing skills. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 21(4), 371-391.

• Bers, M. & Kazakoff, E. (2012). Developmental technologies: Technology and human development. In Lerner, R.M., Easterbrooks, M.A., Mistry, J., & Weiner, I.B. (Eds.) Handbook of Psychology, Developmental Psychology (pp. 639-657).

• Bers, M. & Kazakoff, E. R. (2012). Techno-Tykes: Digital technologies and young children. In O.N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.) Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children (pp. 197-205).

• Flannery, L. & Bers, M. U. (2012, March). Piaget and Programming Robots: Cognitive Developmental Level as a Predictor of Programming Achievement. Talk presented at EETC, Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Kazakoff, E.R. (2012, March). Defining digital literacy in early childhood. Paper presented at EETC, Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Bers, M. U., & Ettinger, A. B. (2012). Programming Robots in Kindergarten to Express Identity: An Ethnographic Analysis. In B. Barker, G. Nugent, N. Grandgenett, & V. Adamchuk (Eds.), Robots in K-12 Education: A New Technology for Learning (pp. 168-184). doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-0182-6.ch008

• Bers, M. U. (2012). Designing Digital Experiences for Positive Youth Development: From Playpen to Playground. Cary, NC: Oxford.

• Bers, M. U. & Cantrell, K (2012). Virtual worlds for children with medical conditions: Experiences for promoting positive youth development. In Å. Smedberg (Ed.), E-health communities and online self-help groups: Applications and usage (pp. 1-23). Hershey, PA: Medical Information Science Reference.

• Horn, M.S., Crouser, R.J., & Bers, M.U. (2012). Tangible interaction and learning: The case for a hybrid approach. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 16(4), 379-389. doi: 10.1007/s00779-011-0404-2

— 2011 —

• Satoh, K., & Bers, M. (2011, December). Zora: A Virtual Community of Pediatric Transplant Patients. Poster session presented at the Noonan Research Fund Symposium, Cambridge, MA.

• Shaer, O., Bers, M., & Chang, M. (2011, May) Making the Invisible Tangible: Learning Biological Engineering in Kindergarten. Workshop on User Interface Technology and Educational Pedagogy at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Vancouver, BC, CA: ACM

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2011, April). The Impact of Computer Programming on Sequencing Ability in Early Childhood. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Conference (AERA), New Orlean, Louisiana.

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2011, March). Kindergarten Robotics: Understanding and Programming Robots in Early Childhood, Poster session presented at Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Annual Conference, Montreal, QC, CA.

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Flannery, L. (2011, March). Kindergarten Robotics, Workshop conducted at the Digital Media and Learning Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

• Cantrell, K., & Bers, M. (2011, February). Psycho-educational technologies for children with cancer: Proceedings at the National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research, Los Angeles, CA.

— 2010 —

• Bers, M.U. (2010). New Media and Technology: Youth as Content Creators, New Directions for Youth Development, 128, 1-4. (Issue Editor’s Notes).

• Bers, M.U. (2010). Beyond computer literacy: Supporting youth’s positive development through technology. New Directions for Youth Development, 128, 13-23.

• Bers, M.U. (2010). The TangibleK Robotics Program: Applied Computational Thinking for Young Children. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 12(2).

• Beals, L.M. (2010). Content creation in virtual worlds to support adolescent identity development. New Directions for Youth Development, 128, 45-54.

• Chau, C. (2010). YouTube as a participatory culture. New Directions for Youth Development, 128, 65-74.

• Hauser, S.H.I ., Golberg, G., Wilde, P.E., Bers, M.U., Ioannone, L., & Economos, C.D. (2010). Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Dissemination of a Theory-Based After School Nutrition and Physical Activity Training and Curriculum. Journal of Health and Communication, 15(8), 859 – 879.

• Cantrell, K., Fischer, A., Bouzaher, A., & Bers, M. (2010). E-mentorship in virtual communities for youth transplant recipients. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 27(6), 344-355.

• Kazakoff, E.R., & Bers, M.U. (2010, November). Computer programming in kindergarten: The role of sequencing: Proceedings of the ICERI 2010 International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Madrid, Spain. (Large .pptx File).

• Cantrell, K. & Bers, M. (2010, November) Virtual communities to augment psychosocial care: Proceedings of the Association of Virtual Worlds Conference, Boston, MA.

• Cantrell, K. & Bers, M. (2010, October) Zora Camp4All: Virtual community for youth with cancer: Proceedings from the International Society of Pediatric Oncology- Pediatric Psycho-Oncology Pre-meeting, Boston, MA.

• Cantrell, K., & Bers, M. (2010). Zora Camp4All: A virtual community to augment the hopefulness of pediatric camping. Child Life Focus, 28(3), 1-7.

• Bers, M. (2010). Let the Games Begin: Civic Playing on High-Tech Consoles. Review of General Psychology, 14(2), 147–153.

• Beals, L., & Bers, M.U. (2010). Evaluating participation in an international bilingual virtual world educational intervention for youth. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2(5).

• Bers, M. (in press). Parents and children: Engaging in positive technological development through robotics. Early Childhood Development and Care.

• Bers, M., Beals, L., Chau, C., Satoh, K., & Khan, N. (2010). Virtual worlds for young people in a program context: Lessons from four case studies. In M. Khine & I. Saleh (Eds.), New Science of Learning: Cognition, Computers, and Collaboration in Education (pp. 357-383). Springer Publishing Company.

• Bers, M., Beals, L., Chau, C., Satoh, K., Blume, B., DeMaso, D., & Gonzalez-Heydrich, J. (2010). Use of a virtual community as a psychosocial support system in pediatric transplantation. Pediatric Transplantation, 14, 261-267. Editorial

• Bers, M & Chau, C. (2010). The virtual campus of the future: stimulating and simulating civic actions in a virtual world. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 22(1), 1-23.

• Bers., M. (2010). When robots tell a story about culture…and children tell a story about learning. In N. Yelland (Ed.), Contemporary Perspective on Early Childhood Education (pp. 227-247). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.

• Bers, M. & Horn, M. (2010). Tangible programming in early childhood: Revisiting developmental assumptions through new technologies. In I. R. Berson & M. J. Berson (Eds.), High-tech tots: Childhood in a digital world (pp. 49-70). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

— 2009 —

• Bers, M., Lynch, A. D., & Chau, C. (2009). Positive technological development: The multifaceted nature of youth technology use towards improving self and society. In Ching, C.C. & Foley, B. J. (Eds.) Technology, Learning, and Identity: Research on the Development and Exploration of Selves in a Digital World. Cambridge University Press.

• Horn, M., Bers, M., & Jacob, R. (2009, April). Tangible programming in education: A research approach. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Boston, MA.

• Beals, L. & Bers, M.U. (2009). A developmental lens for designing virtual worlds for children and youth. The International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(1), 51-65.

• Bers, M. U. (2009). New Media for New Organs: A Virtual Community for Pediatric Post-Transplant Patients. Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 15(4), 462-469.

— 2008 —

• Bers, M. U. (2008). Virtual Worlds as Digital Playgrounds. EDUCAUSE Review, 43(5), 80-81.

• Bers, M. U. (2008). A Palace in Time: Supporting Children’s Spiritual Development through New Technologies. In Richard Lerner, Robert Roeser, & Erin Phelps (Eds.), Youth, Development & Spirituality: From Theory to Research (pp. 339-358), West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Templeton Foundation Press.

• Bers, M. U. (2008). Civic identities, online technologies: from designing civic curriculum to supporting civic experiences. In Bennett, W. L. (Ed.), Civic Life Online: Learning how digital media can engage youth. (pp. 139-160). The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundations Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

• Bers, M. (2008). Engineers and storytellers: Using robotic manipulatives to develop technological fluency in early childhood. In O. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Science and Technology in Early Childhood Education (pp. 105-125), Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. (Order the book from Amazon.com)

• Bers, M. U. (2008). Blocks to robots learning with technology in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. (Order from Amazon.com)
  

  — 2007 —

• Bers, M., Chau, C., Satoh, K., & Beals, L. (2007). Virtual Communities of Care: Online Peer Networks with Post-Organ Transplant Youth: Proceedings of the 2007 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Conference, New Brunswick, NJ.

• Bers, M. (2007). Project InterActions: A multigenerational robotic learning environment. Journal of Science and Technology Education. 16(6), 537-552.

• Bers, M. (2007). Positive Technological Development: Working with computers, children, and the Internet. MassPsych, 51(1), 5-7, 18-19.

— 2006 —

• Bers, M., & Chau, C. (2006). Fostering civic engagement by building a virtual city. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(3). article 4.

• Bers, M. (2006). The role of new technologies to foster positive youth development. Applied Developmental Science, 10(4), 200-219.

• Beals, L. & Bers, M. (2006). Robotic Technologies: When Parents Put Their Learning Ahead of their Child’s. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 17(4), 341-366.

— 2005 —

• Kahn, J. & Bers, M. (2005). An Examination of Early Elementary Student’s Approach to Engineering: Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, American Society for Engineering Education.

• Staszowski, K. J. & Bers, M. (2005). The Effects of Peer Interactions on the Development of Technological Fluency in an Early-Childhood, Robotic Learning Environment: Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, American Society for Engineering Education.

• Bers, M. & Portsmore, M. (2005). Teaching Partnerships: Early childhood and engineering students teaching math and science through robotics. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14, 59-74.

— 2004 —

• Bers, M., New, B. & Boudreau, L. (2004). Teaching and learning when no one is expert: Children and parents explore technology. Journal of Early Childhood Research and Practice.

— 2003 —

• Bers, M. (2003). Kaleidostories: Teachers and Students Creating a Cross Cultural Virtual Community through Narrative. Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 9(2), 54-83. Bedforshire: UK.

• Bers, M. (2003). We Are What We Tell: Designing Narrative Environments for Children. In Mateas, M. & Sengers, P. (Eds.) Narrative Intelligence. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

• Bers, M., Gonzalez-Heydrich, G., DeMaso, D. (2003). Use of a Computer-Based Application in a Pediatric Hemodialysis Unit: A Pilot Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 42(4), 493-496.

• Bers, M., Gonzalez-Heydrich, G., DeMaso, D. (2002). Future of Technology to Augment Patient Support in Hospitals. Studies in health, technology and informatics, 80, 231-244.

— 2002 —

• Bers, M., Ponte, I., Juelich, K., Viera, A., Schenker, J. (2002). Teachers as Designers: Integrating Robotics in Early Childhood Education. Information Technology in Childhood Education (pp. 123-145) AACE.

— 2001 —

• Bers, M. (2001). Identity Construction Environments: developing personal and moral values through the design of a virtual city. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 10(4), 365-415. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

• Bers, M., Gonzalez-Heydrich, J., DeMaso, D. (2001). Identity Construction Environments: Supporting a Virtual Therapeutic Community of Pediatric Patients undergoing Dialysis: Proceedings of Computer-Human Interaction (pp. 380-387) ACM.

• Bers, M., Gonzalez-Heydrich, J., Raches, D., DeMaso, D. (2001). Zora: A Pilot Virtual Community in the Pediatric Dialysis Unit. (pp. 800-804). Amsterdam: IOS Press.

— 2000 —

• Bers, M. & Urrea, C. (2000). Technological Prayers: Parents and Children Exploring Robotics and Values. In A. Druin & J. Hendler (Eds.) Robots for Kids: Exploring New Technologies for Learning Experiences (pp. 194-217). NY: Morgan Kaufman.

• Bers, M. & Cassell, J. (2000). Children as Designers of Interactive Storytellers: Let Me Tell You a Story about Myself. In Dautenhahn, K. (Ed.) Human Cognition and Social Agent Technology (pp. 61-83). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

• Bers, M., Gonzalez-Heydrich, G., DeMaso, D., Corsini, E. & Harmon, W. (2000, May). Zora: A Pilot Virtual Community in the Pediatric Dialysis Unit. Abstract accepted for American Society for Pediatrics meeting in Boston, MA.

— 1999 —

• Bers, M. (1999). Zora: a Graphical Multi-user Environment to Share Stories about the Self: Proceedings of Computer Support for Collaborative Learning, (pp. 33-40).

• Bers, M. & Best, M. (1999). Rural Connected Communities: A Project in Online Collaborative Journalism: Proceedings of Computer Support for Collaborative Learning, (pp. 41-46).

• Bers, M. (1999). Narrative Construction Kits: Who am I? Who are you? What are we?: Proceedings of Narrative Intelligence Fall Symposium, (pp. 44-51).

• Bers, M. & Urrea C. (1999). Con-science: Parents and Children Exploring Robotics and Values: Proceedings of EUROLOGO, (pp. 356-366). Sofia: Bulgaria.

• Bers, M. & Cassell, J. (1999). Interactive Storytelling Systems for children: using technology to explore language and identity. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 9(2), 603-609.

— 1998 —

• Bers, M. (1998). A constructionist approach to values through on-line narrative tools: Proceedings of International Conference for the Learning Sciences, (pp. 49-55).

• Bers, M & Bergman, S. (1998, April). A constructionist perspective on values: a response to postmodern fragmented identity. Paper presented at the Identity, formation, dignity: The impacts of Artificial Intelligence upon Jewish and Christian Understandings of Personhood Conference. The Boston Theological Institute, MIT AI Lab and Center for Faith and Science Exchange.

• Bers, M., Ackermann, E., Cassell, J., Donegan, B., Gonzalez-Heydrich, J., DeMaso, D., Strohecker, C., Lualdi, S., Bromley, D., & Karlin, J. (1998). Interactive Storytelling Environments: Coping with Cardiac Illness at Boston’s Children’s Hospital: Proceedings of Computer-Human Interaction, (pp. 603-609), ACM.

• Gonzalez-Heydrich J., Bromley D., Strohecker C., Marks J., DeMaso D.R., Ackermann E., Gibson S., Shen C., Umaschi M. (1998). Experience journals: Using computers to share personal stories about illness and medical intervention. Paper presented at MedInf’98, 9th World Congress on Medical Informatics, (pp. 1323-1327). IOS Press.

— 1997 —

• Umaschi, M. & Cassell, J. (1997). Storytelling Systems: Constructing the Innerface of the Interface: Proceedings of Cognitive Technologies (pp. 98-108). IEEE.

• Umaschi, M. (1997). Soft Toys with Computer Hearts: Building Personal Storytelling Environments: Proceedings of CHI’97, (pp. 20-21). ACM, (HTML format).

• Glos, J. & Umaschi, M. (1997). Once Upon an Object: Computationally-augmented Toys for Storytelling: Proceedings of ICCIMA ’97 (pp. 245-249). Gold Coast, Australia.

— 1996 —

• Umaschi, M. (1996). SAGE Storytellers: Learning about Identity, Language and Technology: Proceedings of ICLS ’96 (pp. 526-531). AACE.

• Umaschi, M. (1996). Rabbi: exploring the inner world through stories. Proceedings of AAAI ’96, (p. 1413). Student Abstracts, Volume II, MIT Press (ps format).