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Abstract. We investigated teacher learning within a professional development (PD) workshop series on computational thinking (CT) for elementary-level mentor teachers. The purpose of the PD was to prepare mentor teachers to support preservice teachers in integrating CT into their classroom practice, toward the broader goal of advancing CT for all in the early grades. We examined the ways in which participants collaboratively built on existing professional knowledge as they engaged in professional learning activities designed to introduce CT and related pedagogies for elementary science education. Our data sources were field notes, artifacts, drawings, written reflections, and focus group interviews. We describe how participants developed new understandings of CT integration and made connections to existing professional knowledge of their students, their curriculum, and their school contexts. We discuss implications for teacher learning and PD design relevant to CT, and make recommendations for future research.
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This content will become publicly available on December 21, 2025
Asset-Based Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Classrooms: Centering Students’ Expertise in a Community of Learners
Computational thinking CT is central to computer science, yet there is a gap in the literature on the best ways to implement CT in early childhood classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how early childhood teachers enacted asset-based pedagogies while implementing CT in their classrooms. We followed a group of 28 early childhood educators who began with a summer institute and then participated in multiple professional learning activities over one year. Examining a subset of the larger group, findings illustrate how teachers intentionally created learning communities that empowered students and utilized their expertise to guide CT learning in their classrooms. Teachers recognized that asset-based approaches to CT instruction empowered not just their students but also themselves. By using asset-based CT pedagogies, early childhood teachers can better support students from marginalized communities, reducing achievement gaps and inequities in digital learning.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2006595
- PAR ID:
- 10562781
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Early Childhood Education Journal
- ISSN:
- 1082-3301
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- computational thinking early childhood teacher learning asset-based pedagogies
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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