Researchers from Cornell Tech and the University of Michigan have found that computer science classes can foster intercultural learning between groups of students who live in areas of conflict.

The study, which is part of the Nairobi Play Project, examined 30 after school computer science classes for refugee students led by teachers who are refugees themselves. During these classes, students learned basic computing concepts and developed video games with community-based themes.

Students in the Nairobi Play Project, which teaches computing to groups in or at risk of conflict. The project was the subject of a Cornell study about computational education. Source: Nairobi Play Project

There are many factors that contribute to intercultural cooperation, including; the perceived importance of computing, the novelty of the devices, the need to share equipment, unfamiliar modes of thinking and the opportunity for laughter. If a class has some or all of these factors, then they are on the path to successful intercultural cooperation.

Programming is very similar to intercultural cooperation. When programming, students must consider solving a problem from the computer’s perspective. This is like looking at a situation from another person’s point of view.

During the study, researchers observed the classes, interviewed teachers and students and conducted surveys before and after the program. The results showed that, even if a student is resistant to the program at first, the structure of the classes created unlikely friendships between students with different backgrounds. The students had access to a limited number of devices, so they were forced to share and be cooperative with each other.

Many examples of intercultural learning appeared during the study. A Somali girl was resistant to working with a South Sudanese boy at first, but eventually, the pair became best friends as they shared a laptop for a month. A Congolese boy and a Sudanese boy bonded over language difficulties. When two Dinka students stopped attending class because their teacher was from Nurtrine, a competing tribe, their teacher visited them and encouraged them to come back to class and eventually the students returned.

Researchers noted that none of the student connections were automatic. It took time before the students warmed up to each other. Teachers had to watch closely for cultural power hierarchies. If teachers do not recognize and stop the hierarchies before they start, the students may end up creating a rift among themselves rather than working together. For example, a group of boys in one of the classes created a game where migrants reclaim their land by killing men from a competing tribe. This caused issues with students from both tribes. If teachers can catch moments like these early enough, they can use it to teach intercultural learning and collaboration.

The study won an honorable mention for best paper at the upcoming Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing.