Computer science (CS) education is plagued by a gender divide, with few girls and women participating in this high-status discipline. A proven strategy to broaden participation for girls and other underrepresented students interested in CS is the availability of teacher preparation that requires classroom teachers to grow their knowledge of CS content as well as the pedagogical practices that enhance inclusive learning opportunities for historically underrepresented students. This case study describes the design and impact of an Online Professional Development (PD) for CS teachers, a year-long PD program aimed at broadening participation in the United States. Using survey and observation data from more than 200 participants over three years in PD settings, this paper examines how the design of an online learning community model of PD provides an inclusive venue for teachers to examine their belief systems, develop inclusive pedagogical practices, and collectively transform the culture of CS classrooms to places that support all learners. Findings suggest that purposeful facilitation creates a transformative culture of “shared experience” whereby facilitators and groups of teachers engage in collaborative lesson planning and debriefing discussions, in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. This case study can inform other online PD efforts aimed at broadening participation in computing.
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Planning a research lesson online: pre-service teachers' documentation work
Purpose The authors developed a lesson study innovation for bridging pre-service teachers' experiences in an early methods course and clinical experiences focusing on the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The authors analyze one planning meeting by a lesson study team comprised of four pre-service teachers and one cooperating teacher. The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of documentation during the online planning meeting and how the cooperating teacher facilitated the documentation process. Design/methodology/approach The authors used Gueudet and Trouche's (2009) documentation framework to determine the way the lesson study team in our study used all the resources available to plan a lesson. They analyzed the video recordings of the meeting to examine the interplay between material, didactical and mathematical components during the discussions. The material components included the Teacher Desmos Activity Builder and the eTextbook. The didactical components included assessment, scaffolding, multiple representations and problem-solving activities. The mathematical components pertained to systems of linear equations and inequalities with two variables. Findings The authors’ findings show that the cooperating teacher performed an invariant set of actions for improving the research lesson and, also, gave recommendations about how to implement the lesson. In facilitating the planning discussions, the cooperating teacher made explicit the relationship between material, didactical and mathematical components. The authors’ work has implications for supporting the preparation of facilitators of online planning sessions during lesson study. Research limitations/implications The authors did not have access to the planning meeting where the PSTs created the draft of the research lesson. In addition, they are reporting the observations of only one online meeting. Originality/value The authors’ work has implications for supporting the preparation of facilitators of online planning sessions during lesson study.
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- PAR ID:
- 10287478
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2046-8253
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 168 to 186
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLLS-09-2020-0068
