Effects of a teacher development program on teachers' knowledge and collaborative engagement, and students' achievement in computational thinking concepts

Abstract

An important educational goal for the next generation is the ability to think computationally. Cultivating K-12 students' computational thinking (CT) requires the capacity building of teachers through teacher development programs. However, if students' learning outcomes were not assessed, it is not known whether the enhancement of teacher capacity could impact on students' learning. This study aimed to examine how a teacher development program changed teachers' content knowledge and collaborative engagement, which in turn influenced their students' learning achievement. The participants were 81 teachers and 3226 students from primary schools. We employed multi-level modelling to study the relationships between teacher-level variables and student achievement assessed by a CT concepts test. The teachers' content knowledge and collaborative engagement were significantly enhanced through the program, which in turn had a significant impact on student achievement. Teachers' years of teaching experience, but not their gender or whether they had majored in computer science, could also affect student achievement. The results indicate that a teacher development program can play a significant role in How to cite this article: Kong, S-C, & Lai, M. (2023). Effects of a teacher development program on teachers' knowledge and collaborative engagement, and students' achievement in computational thinking concepts.

Instrumentos de evaluación del pensamiento computacional: una revisión sistemática

“…Published articles Yan Li [16], [36] 2 Juan Carlos Pérez González [37], [38] 2 Jungwon Cho [39], [40] 2 Saralah Sovey and Mohd Effendi [41], [42] 2 Siu Cheung Kong [43], [44] 2 Barbara Bruno, Laila El-Hamamsy, and Estefanía Martín-Barroso [15], [45] 2 Kamisah Osman [41], [42], [46] 3 Özgen Korkmaz [46]- [48] 3 Jessica Dehler Zufferey [15], [45], [49] 3 Marcos Román González [15], [37], [38], [50] 4…”

A case for co-construction with teachers in curricular reform: Introducing computer science in primary school

“…As a pre-requisite to achieving equity is that the reform has an impact, this means that there is little insight into whether these reforms are contributing to equity and reducing learning and perception gaps between different groups of students. Indeed, "studies that relate student's learning achievement and teachers' capacity building are still rare in the literature of CT (Mason and Rich, 2019)" (Kong and Lai, 2022a). This is likely due to the difficulties countries face implementing CS & CT reforms, including adequately training a sufficient number of teachers to teach the new concepts (Bocconi et al, 2022;El-Hamamsy et al, 2021b).…”

“…This is likely due to the difficulties countries face implementing CS & CT reforms, including adequately training a sufficient number of teachers to teach the new concepts (Bocconi et al, 2022;El-Hamamsy et al, 2021b). Difficulties of assessing teachers' mastery of Computational Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Hickmott and Prieto-Rodriguez, 2018), and what is implemented after PD programs (El-Hamamsy et al, 2022a) also exist, despite their direct influence on student learning (Kong and Lai, 2022a). To the best of our knowledge, only Kong and Lai (2022a) linked 81 teachers' content knowledge with 3226 students' achievement in their evaluation of a PD program.…”

“…Difficulties of assessing teachers' mastery of Computational Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Hickmott and Prieto-Rodriguez, 2018), and what is implemented after PD programs (El-Hamamsy et al, 2022a) also exist, despite their direct influence on student learning (Kong and Lai, 2022a). To the best of our knowledge, only Kong and Lai (2022a) linked 81 teachers' content knowledge with 3226 students' achievement in their evaluation of a PD program. However, these teachers chose to participate in the PD program and were required to teach a year-long curriculum.…”

Unveiling the Potential of Online Professional Development: A Self-Study Approach for Educator Growth

“…By highlighting the value of self-directed learning and reflective practice (Pinnegar & Hamilton, 2009), this research underscores the importance of agency and self-motivation in driving professional growth and development. As educators continue to navigate the evolving landscape of education, embracing lifelong learning and leveraging digital platforms for professional development will be essential for staying current, effective, and innovative in the field (Adipat et al, 2023;Kong & Lai, 2023) .…”