The Effects of Computational Thinking Professional Development on STEM Teachers’ Perceptions and Pedagogical Practices

Abstract

The authors investigated the impact of exposure to computational thinking activities and professional development on inservice teachers' perceptions and teaching practices in elementary and secondary school education. The participants of this 2017/2018 research study were STEM teachers from the Baltimore County (Maryland) Public Schools in the United States of America. The major focus of this study was on the impact of professional development activities on the inclusion of computational thinking activities in the k-12 mathematics and science classrooms. The analysis of the data indicated that most of the participating teachers felt that the professional development activities were valuable and made a positive impact on the quality and quantity of computational thinking activities they implemented in their classrooms. Most of these teachers stated that they would implement computational thinking activities on a weekly or monthly basis. Based on the analysis of the data and the results of this study, a list of future research questions is included.

Teaching programming and computational thinking in early childhood education: a case study of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge

“…Accordingly, it has been suggested by researchers that there is a pressing need to enhance teachers’ PCK through pre-service and in-service training programs to facilitate the integration of CT into their classrooms ( Yadav et al, 2017 ; Chalmers, 2018 ; Haines et al, 2019 ). Chalmers (2018) specifically emphasized that a deeper understanding of CT concepts, practices, and perspectives is crucial for teachers to effectively incorporate CT into the primary curriculum.…”

High school biology teachers’ integration of computational thinking into data practices to support student investigations

“…Previous professional development programs in CT have supported teachers' beliefs that it is an important skillset for students (Haines et al, 2019; Hestness et al, 2018). In their 2‐day professional development workshop, Hestness et al (2018) recruited 13 mentor teachers from three different school districts in the US state of Maryland, representing three different grade levels to learn what their preservice student interns had learned about CT.…”

“…Additionally, teachers reported a desire for more ongoing, integrated CT support like availability of professionals knowledgeable in the topic for collaboration, and support with integrating it into the required lessons and standards. Haines et al (2019) designed their 2-year professional development for 17 K-12 teachers using a set of principles based on a review of the literature. These foundational principles in their program design included: developing a community-centered approach [based on Putnam and Borko (2000)], making content relevant and timely for teachers (based on Cole et al, 2002;Kanaya et al, 2005;Snoeyink & Ertmer, 2001Zhao & Cziko, 2001), and using both inperson and virtual approaches to facilitate comfort with the content and technology (based on Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2007;Somekh, 2008).…”

Building a Virtual Community of Practice: Teacher Learning for Computational Thinking Infusion

“…While existing research has focused on changes to teacher beliefs and self-efficacy (Rich et al, 2021 ), more work is needed to identify practical supports for teachers to integrate CT into existing disciplinary curricula (Hestness et al, 2018 ). Further, there is a paucity of literature on virtual PD to help teachers integrate CT (Haines et al, 2019 ; Mason & Rich, 2019 ).…”