Search for: All records

This paper describes efforts to develop and study a framework for schoolwide integration of computational thinking (CT). The CT Integration Framework (CT Framework) is a self-assessment and planning tool for educators that serves three essential goals: (1) to identify and describe core elements that will affect CT integration across school curricula; (2) to help determine a school’s readiness, diagnosing strengths and challenges to integrate CT across multiple grades and subjects; and (3) to guide schools in setting goals for CT integration and determine indicators of progress toward those goals. We describe the results of two successive mixed-methods research studies that field-tested the CT Framework and its companion self-assessment tool, documenting the pathways toward schoolwide CT integration and professional development (PD) experiences of eight elementary schools located in both rural and urban school districts in four states in the United States of America. Based on the studies’ findings, we reflect on the ways in which the CT Framework proved to be a useful tool for the researchers and practitioners who participated in the projects. Specifically, we found it helped researchers to understand the different elements each school prioritized as their initial areas of focus and how each school expanded their efforts over time. When triangulated with additional survey and interview data, the information collected by using the CT Framework provided the project team with a structure for learning about the approaches each school took and understanding the similarities and differences that emerged among the schools in their approaches toward schoolwide CT integration. The CT Framework also proved to be very useful in guiding schools’ implementation efforts, as it helped school leaders clearly define the vision for schoolwide CT integration and identify and prioritize goals to ensure progress toward the school’s vision for CT integration.