In this dissertation, I explored the pedagogical content knowledge of in-service high school educators recently assigned to teach computer science for the first time. Teachers were participating in a professional development program where they co-taught introductory computing classes with tech industry professionals. The study was motivated by…

We highlight ways to support interest-driven creation of digital media in Scratch, a visual-based programming language and community, within a high school programming workshop. We describe a collaborative approach, the programmers' collective, that builds on social models found in do-it-yourself and open source communities, but with scaffolding…

An educated citizenry that participates in and contributes to science technology engineering and mathematics innovation in the 21st century will require broad literacy and skills in computer science (CS). School systems will need to give increased attention to opportunities for students to engage in computational thinking and ways to promote a…

Learning to code has been an increasingly frequent topic of conversation both in academic circles and popular media. Learning to code recently received renewed attention with the announcement of the White House's Computer Science for All initiative (Smith 2016). This initiative intends "to empower all American students from kindergarten…

Pat Yongpradit is the director of education at Code.org. He leads all education efforts, including professional development and curriculum creation, and he builds relationships with school districts. Pat joined "Educational Horizons" to talk about why it is important to teach computer science--even for non-computer science teachers. This…

The new Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) Principles course increases the need for quality CS teachers and thus the need for professional development (PD). This article presents the results of a 2-year study investigating how teachers teaching the AP CS Principles course for the first time used online PD material. Our results showed…

For countries to remain competitive in the global economy, it is important to cultivate the next generation of native mathematicians. However, this goal has been increasingly challenging in the United States where, despite the tremendous increase in university enrollment during recent decades, the number of students studying mathematics has…

The primary purpose of this study was to identify secondary computer science (CS) teachers' needs, related to knowledge, skills, and school setting, to create more effective CS education in the United States. In addition, this study examined how these needs change based on the participants' years of teaching experience as well as their background…

The study investigated pre-service ICT teachers' perceptions of algorithm visualization (AV) with regard to appropriateness of teaching levels and contribution to learning and motivation. In order to achieve this aim, a qualitative case study was carried out. The participants consisted of 218 pre-service ICT teachers from four different…

How teachers are able to adapt to a changing environment is essentially dependent on their beliefs and motivational orientations. The development of these aspects in the context of professional competence takes place during teachers' educational phase and professional practice. The overall understanding of professional competence for teaching…

This article describes the importance that high school computer science teachers place on a teachers' professional learning community designed around an inquiry- and equity-oriented approach for broadening participation in computing. Using grounded theory to analyze four years of teacher surveys and interviews from the Exploring Computer Science…

The focus of this research was to create and test an introductory computer science course for middle school. Titled "Foundations for Advancing Computational Thinking" (FACT), the course aims to prepare and motivate middle school learners for future engagement with algorithmic problem solving. FACT was also piloted as a seven-week course…

The fields of engineering, computer science, and physics have a paucity of women despite decades of intervention by universities and organizations. Women's graduation rates in these fields continue to stagnate, posing a critical problem for society. This qualitative grounded theory (GT) study sought to understand how robotics programs influenced…

This study investigated the impact of discussion forum design and facilitative strategies on student participation and cognitive levels of student dialogue. A multiple-case study design was used. Three online classes taught by the same instructor participated (n = 55). Data were collected from observations, discussion transcripts, and teacher…

Why would individuals who are capable of learning opt not to? Learning is important for stability and success. It would seem rational that students in groups that are frequently underrepresented or marginalized would be motivated to learn. However, negotiation of multiple identities and self-beliefs can impact motivations to learn. For example,…