An International Benchmark Study of K-12 Computer Science Education in Schools

Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

Bergin

2020

Self Cite

This paper describes a pilot intervention conducted in CS1, in the academic year of 2016-2017. The intervention was based on the work of Dweck, promoting a growth Mindset in an effort to increase performance in introductory programming. The study also examined data from a previous year (as a control group) to compare and contrast the results. Multiple factors related to programming performance were recorded with the control and treatment group, which were measured at multiple intervals throughout the course, to monitor changes as the pilot intervention was implemented. This study found a significant increase in programming performance when the intervention was deployed. However, although performance increased for the treatment group, the average Mindset did not significantly change towards a growth Mindset (replicating the findings of Cutts et al, 2010). To further explore this finding, a preliminary deeper investigation using k-means clustering was carried out. The investigation found that the intervention promoted a growth Mindset for some student profiles and a fixed Mindset for others. This finding is important for educators considering intervention development or implementation of Mindset, and demonstrates that a Mindset intervention may not be suitable for all learners. CCS CONCEPTS • Social and professional topics → Computer science education; CS1.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting a Growth Mindset in CS1: Does One Size Fit All? A Pilot Study

Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

Bergin

2020

Self Cite

“…The MEasuring TeacheR Enacted Computing Curriculum (ME-TRECC) Instrument was developed and (publicly available) pilot data was collected as part of an ITICSE working group [18,21].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…METRECC was created to establish a benchmark of enacted K-12 education internationally [18,21]. The instrument has been designed with evidence of validity and reliability to measure several facets such as intended and enacted curriculum and included a Teacher CS Self-Esteem scale.…”

Section: The Metrecc Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pilot of the METRECC survey was administered via Survey Monkey and open for two weeks (30th June-12th July, 2019) [18,21]. The authors used social media to find participants, sharing it with organizations in their respective countries that support teachers teaching computing (e.g., Computer Science Teachers Association) and/or deliver PD.…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An International Pilot Study of K-12 Teachers' Computer Science Self-Esteem

Vivian

Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

McGill

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Computer Science (CS) is a new subject area for many K-12 teachers around the world, requiring new disciplinary knowledge and skills. Teacher social-behavioral factors (e.g. self-esteem) have been found to impact learning and teaching, and a key part of CS curriculum implementation will need to ensure teachers feel confident to deliver CS. However, studies about CS teacher self-esteem are lacking. This paper presents an analysis of publicly available data (n=219) from a pilot study using a Teacher CS Self-Esteem scale. Analysis revealed significant differences, including 1) females reported significantly lower CS self-esteem than males, 2) primary teachers reported lower levels of CS self-esteem than secondary teachers, 3) those with no CS teaching experience reported significantly lower CS self-esteem, 4) teachers with 0-3 years experience had a negative CS self-esteem, but after four years, teachers had a positive CS self-esteem, and 5) teachers who lived further from metropolitan areas and in some countries reported lower CS self-esteem. These initial findings suggest a pressing need for future research to look further into teacher CS self-esteem to inform teacher CS professional development.

“…The three sections of the pilot study outreach camp are defined, using widely acknowledged pedagogical approaches where possible, and pilot pedagogy approaches where not, with the aim to examine them over time. In addition, an ITiCSE working group, has developed an enacted curriculum survey, that will measure pedagogical approaches enacted within worldwide curriculum [10][11][12]. This will be useful to determine pedagogy used internationally to benchmark and provide insights for the pedagogy used in our model.…”

Section: Developing the Pilot Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an Inclusive K-12 Outreach Model

Nolan

Faherty

Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

et al. 2020

Self Cite

This paper outlines the longitudinal development of a K-12 outreach model, to promote Computer Science in Ireland. Over a three-year period, it has been piloted to just under 9700 K-12 students from almost every county in Ireland. The model consists of a two-hour camp that introduces students to a range of Computer Science topics: addressing computing perceptions, introduction to coding and exploration of computational thinking. The model incorporates on-site school delivery and is available at no cost to any interested school across Ireland. The pilot study so far collected over 3400 surveys (pre-and post-outreach delivery). Schools from all over Ireland self-selected to participate, including male only, female only and mixed schools. The no-cost nature of the model meant schools deemed "disadvantaged", to private fee-paying schools participated. Initial findings are very positive, including the balance of male and female participants, where in the 2017-18 academic year it was 56:44 and in 2019-20 (to date), it is 35:65 respectively. Once the model is validated and tweaked (based on survey data), the model will be published (open access) for other institutions to implement the model locally. In addition, the authors intend to link schools (that the team have worked with over the three years) with local institutions, thus developing a sustainable ecosystem for the program to continue. This paper describes the model structure and outlines early findings. CCS CONCEPTS • Social and professional topics → Computer science education.