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Through a mixed-methods approach that utilized teacher surveys and a focus group with computer science (CS) instructional coaches, this study examined elementary teachers’ confidence in meeting the needs of students with disabilities, the extent to which the teachers could use the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework in CS education, and the strategies that their CS instructional coaches used with them to help meet the needs of all learners, including those with disabilities. Findings from a Wilcoxon signed-rank test and a general linear regression of the teacher surveys revealed that teachers’ confidence in teaching CS and in meeting the needs of students with disabilities increased over the 5 month coaching study, but their understanding of UDL remained low throughout the study. A qualitative thematic analysis of open-response survey questions revealed that the teachers could identify instructional strategies that support the inclusion of students with disabilities in CS instruction. These strategies aligned with high leverage practices (HLPs) and included modeling, the use of explicit instruction, and opportunities for repeated instruction. When asked to identify UDL approaches, however, they had more difficulty. The focus group with coaches revealed that the coaches’ primary aim related broadly to equity and specifically to access to and the quality of CS instruction. However, although they introduced UDL-based strategies, they struggled to systematically incorporate UDL into coaching activities and did not explicitly label these strategies as part of the UDL framework on a consistent basis. This finding explains, to a large extent, the teachers’ limited understanding of UDL in the context of CS education.
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Balancing teachers’ needs in times of crisis: investigating how computer science instructional coaches and teachers navigated remote professional development during COVID-19
This study investigated how Chicago Public Schools (CPS) computer science (CS) teachers and instructional coaches navigated remote professional development (PD) during the pandemic. Analyzing multiple sources of qualitative data, we explored how coaches adapted PD to address teachers’ unique needs and how teachers experienced remote PD. We found that the coaching team designed PD to help teachers translate key instructional strategies into the remote learning environment and increasingly centered their PD design efforts on improving teacher engagement and wellbeing. Teachers primarily valued the relational aspects of PD, including opportunities for collaboration and personalized support from instructional coaches. Leveraging an ecological framework, we found that the pandemic and remote learning contexts amplified preexisting PD challenges experienced by teachers and coaches. Findings suggest that PD researchers and designers should focus on teacher wellbeing and that districts should invest in flexible and adaptable PD structures to meet CS teachers’ varied needs.
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- PAR ID:
- 10547025
- Publisher / Repository:
- Taylor and Francis
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Computer Science Education
- ISSN:
- 0899-3408
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 33
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Exploring computer science professional development instructional coaching COVID-19 teacher wellbeing qualitative methods
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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In K-12 education, nearly all efforts focused on expanding computer science education center on the induction of new computer science teachers, with very little attention given to support the ongoing needs of experienced computer science teachers. This panel discussed the needs of experienced CS teachers from a variety of perspectives, including teacher education researchers, professional development leaders, and high school practitioners and teacher facilitators. The panel collectively outlined a research and practice agenda that focuses on supporting, retaining, and further developing experienced teachers through expanded professional development, leadership opportunities, and community for CS teachers.more » « less
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Teacher professional development (PD) is a key factor in enabling teachers to develop mindsets and skills that positively impact students. It is also a key step in building capacity for computer science (CS) education in K-12 schools. Successful CS PD meets primary learning goals and enable teachers to grow their self-efficacy, asset and equity mindset, and interest in teaching CS. As part of a larger study, we conducted a secondary analysis of CS PD evaluation instruments (). We found that instruments across providers were highly dissimilar with limited data collected for measures related to teacher learning, which has implications for future K-12 CS education. Likewise, the instruments were limited in being connected to student learning and academic growth. As a way to enable PD providers to construct measures that align with known impacting factors, we offer recommendations for collecting demographic data and measuring program satisfaction, content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, growth and equity mindset, and self-efficacy. We also highlight questions for PD providers to consider when constructing their evaluation, including reflecting community values, the goals of the PD, and how the data collected will be used to continually improve CS programs.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2024.2313913
