Technology is an increasingly omnipresent and rapidly changing component of today's world. As a result, there is an urgency to develop talent in the field of computer science (CS). The purpose of this article is to examine ways that educational systems can develop students' talents to fill the need for skilled CS professionals. We provide an…

Because of the rapid expansion of computer science (CS) education, educational leaders must consider how to recruit, prepare, and support teachers who typically do not have a background in CS. This study examines two professional development (PD) approaches used to introduce CS education to non-CS teachers. We aim to understand if/how each model…

This randomized control trial evaluated the impact of a year-long professional development (PD) program on elementary teachers' CS content knowledge, self-efficacy, and CS implementation. It also investigated teachers' PD experiences and expectations. The findings suggest that treatment teachers' self-efficacy for teaching CS significantly…

Computational thinking (CT) activities are increasingly being integrated into early childhood schools. We focus on studying children's learning using an "unplugged" (non-computational) learning unit that considers a teacher's knowledge and classroom space and affords seamless adaptation into the classroom given the objects used in the…

Background and Context: Recognizing that digital technologies can enable economic transformation in Africa, computing education has been considered a subject relevant for all within the compulsory level of education. The implementation of the subject in many schools is, however, characterized by a myriad of challenges, including pedagogical…

Middle school students often enter Computer Science (CS) classes without previous CS or Computational Thinking (CT) instruction. This study evaluated how Code.org's block-based programming curriculum affects middle school students' CT skills and attitudes toward CT and CS. Sixteen students participated in the study. This was a mixed methods action…

Facilitating Computer Science Unplugged (CS-unplugged) activities with reflective thinking activities lead students to in-depth reviews of their decisions and think of ways to solve the CS-unplugged problems. This study aims to evaluate the instruction enriched with reflective thinking activities to develop computational thinking skills. The study…

Programmed control systems are ubiquitous in the present-day world. In current educational practice, however, these systems are hardly being addressed, and little is known about children's spontaneous understandings about such systems. Therefore, we explored pupils' understandings prior to instruction in three concrete settings: a car park, an…

A growing number of academic institutions have invested resources to integrate cyber ranges for applying and developing cybersecurity-related knowledge and skills. Cyber range developers and administrators provided much of what is known about cyber range resources and possible educational applications; however, the educator provides valuable…

This paper explored the attitudes and roles of computer science (CS) teachers in elementary and high schools in Croatia in the period from completely online to "normal" schooling. The research was conducted in two phases to gain insight into the adaption of online education in schools. The first part of the research was a quantitative…

The increased focus on computational thinking has led to the acceptance of computer programming as one of the ways of teaching computational thinking. In 2020, Japan introduced programming education in elementary schools. To understand the current situation of parental involvement at the beginning of programming education, this study aimed to know…

Objectives: Limited research exists on how new computer science (CS) teachers understand fundamental Internet principles. This knowledge gap hinders the development of effective upskilling courses, especially as new CS curricula are being introduced worldwide. This study investigates new CS teachers' conceptions of fundamental Internet principles,…

Given the increasing needs of employees with computational skills, understanding the core competencies of K-12 computer science (CS) education is vital. This phenomenological research aims to identify critical factors of CS education in K-12 schools from the perspectives and visions of CS faculties in higher education and teachers in K-12 schools.…

Computer science education is being recognized globally as necessary to better prepare students in all grade levels, K-12, for future success. As a result of this focus on computer science education in the United States and around the world, there is an increased demand for highly qualified teachers with content and pedagogical knowledge to…

The purpose of this research project was to design, deliver, and informally assess the content and methodology of an introductory online course for the educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students (N=20) that focused on the block-based coding language, Scratch. Prior work by The Playful Learning Lab examined various STEM resources and their…