Computer Science Teachers Association Research Articles

Building robust teacher-led professional learning communities for computer science educators: Insights from CSTA chapters in the U.S.

The rapid expansion of K-12 computer science education highlights the urgent need for well-prepared teachers. The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) facilitates the development of local teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) through CSTA chapters. This study investigated the types of support CSTA chapters provide, how teacher leaders establish local PLCs and engage teachers of computer science, and the challenges encountered in this process. The investigation included multi-year focus group interviews with chapter leaders and teacher member surveys. The findings reveal that CSTA chapters serve as vital resources of professional support, amplify teachers’ voices, and nurture their professional identities in teaching computer science. This study provides a nuanced understanding of local PLCs for computer science educators, informing future endeavors in teacher preparation and development.

Understanding U.S. secondary computer science teachers’ challenges and needs

ABSTRACT Background and Context Based on issues arising around how to best prepare CS teachers and the constantly changing nature of the CS education content, curriculum, and instructional methods, it is crucial to examine the needs of secondary CS teachers. Objective The primary purpose of this study was to identify secondary computer science (CS) teachers’ needs and make recommendations for future CS education research and practices in the U.S. Method Using a mixed-method research design, the data were collected from Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)’s email listserv member discussions (n = 1,706 from 482 unique members), questionnaire responses from 222 secondary CS teachers, and semi-structured interviews with eight CS teachers in the US. Findings Updating curriculum resources was an important ongoing need for secondary CS teachers. Curriculum resources, materials to assess students learning, and embedding the principles of computational thinking into curriculum were reported as major needs for secondary teachers. Teachers also reported that they need to learn more about student-centered teaching strategies (e.g. problem-based learning and pair programming) and guide students’ learning using scaffolding and team-management strategies. The findings suggest that teachers perceived the need for administrators’, parents’, and other CS teachers’ support. Having an online community for teachers was critical to address their curricular and pedagogical needs. Furthermore, increasing student enrollment and interest in CS was critical for the future of CS education. Implications The findings of this research have implications for creating professional development plans and support that can address secondary CS teachers’ needs in the US.

Who is Teaching Computer Science? Understanding Professional Identity of American Computer Science Teachers through a National Survey

ABSTRACT Background & Context Continuously developing teachers’ knowledge, practice, and professional identity is one of the key standards for effective computer science (CS) teachers. Objective This study aims to understand the landscape of CS teachers in the United States, the professional identity they hold, and how their background and teaching context are associated with their CS teacher identity. Method Using data of 3540 teachers, we performed a two-step cluster analysis to reveal homogeneous subgroups of CS teachers. The relationship between teachers’ backgrounds and their CS teacher identity was also assessed. Findings This study identified four profiles of CS teachers based on their professional identity. . CS teacher identity is strongly associated with teachers’ Computer Science Teachers Association membership, teaching responsibility, teaching experience, and their exposure to CS coursework. Implications More professional support is needed for CS teachers, especially for early-career CS teachers, elementary school teachers, and teachers with multiple responsibilities and little CS background.

Technology Talent Development: Beyond an Hour of Code

As technologically gifted students apply their abilities to computer science, they naturally flow through the talent development stages of potential, competency, and expertise. Processes that have always been important for gifted students to learn as they develop potential are embedded in learning code, which engages the beginning programmer in rich and complex authentic projects (Housand et al., 2017). As stakeholders present opportunities for open-ended, creative processes and products, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA; 2017) and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE; 2016) Standards can form guidelines for gifted students to self-direct their education through technology. Learning to code results in both cognitive and psychosocial skill development, including creative and critical thinking, logical and systematic reasoning, positive risk-taking and processing of feedback, perseverance through challenges, social skills, and collaboration.

Cognitive and Epistemic Spaces in the CSTA Computer Science Learning Standards

This paper presents the findings of close reading of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Computer Science Learning Standards for grades K-12. This document is influential because it has been adopted by at least five of the United States and has served as an inspiration for several more. Analyses of the document structure as well as of verb usage, word frequencies, and word pair networks for the language of the standards themselves as well as the clarification text included in the document for each standard were conducted using tidytext tools built for the R programming language. These analyses revealed a high level of internal coherence in this learning standards document, as well as a wide epistemic space for the teaching and learning of core computer science concepts and practices by K-12 students and their teachers. Implications for student learning, curriculum design, and computer science teacher preparation were discussed.

Secondary Computer Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Needs

The purpose of this study is to identify secondary computer science (CS) teachers’ pedagogical needs in the United States. Participants were selected from secondary teachers who were teaching CS courses or content in a school setting (public, private, or charter) or an after-school program during the time of data collection. This is a qualitative study using CS teachers’ discussions in Computer Science Teachers Association’s (CSTA) email listserv, responses to open-ended questions in a questionnaire, and discussions in follow-up interviews. Content analysis, thematic analysis and constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis were used to analyze the data. The most common pedagogical need expressed was learning student-centered strategies for teaching CS and guiding students’ understanding with the use of scaffolding and team-management strategies in CS classes. Furthermore, addressing students’ beliefs in CS and their preconceptions in math and reading were important factors influencing teaching CS effectively in secondary schools.

Envisioning AI for K-12: What Should Every Child Know about AI?

The ubiquity of AI in society means the time is ripe to consider what educated 21st century digital citizens should know about this subject. In May 2018, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) formed a joint working group to develop national guidelines for teaching AI to K-12 students. Inspired by CSTA's national standards for K-12 computing education, the AI for K-12 guidelines will define what students in each grade band should know about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics. The AI for K-12 working group is also creating an online resource directory where teachers can find AI- related videos, demos, software, and activity descriptions they can incorporate into their lesson plans. This blue sky talk invites the AI research community to reflect on the big ideas in AI that every K-12 student should know, and how we should communicate with the public about advances in AI and their future impact on society. It is a call to action for more AI researchers to become AI educators, creating resources that help teachers and students understand our work.

Computational Thinking Integration Strategy for the Urban Middle School Classroom

This article provides an overview of the work pioneered by the consortium of collaborators in the Billion Oyster Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Project (BOP-CCERS). The BOP-CCERS are working to support computational thinking in the New York City public school classrooms by creating curriculum which combines:1. The Field Station Research (Oyster Restoration Stations) and data collection2. The Billion Oyster Project Digital Platform and data input and storage 3. The New York State Science Intermediate Level Learning Standards. 4. The Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science StandardsThe integration of computational thinking in the STEM middle school classroom is showcased through the intertwining of these dimensions into a trans-disciplinary learning experience that is rich in both content and practice. Students will be able to explain real-world phenomena found in their own community and design possible solutions through the key components of computational thinking.The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Project digital platform and curriculum will be the resources that provide the underpinnings of the integration of computational thinking in the STEM middle school classroom. The primary functions of the platform include the collection and housing of the data pertaining to the harbor and its component parts, both abiotic and biotic and the storage of the curriculum for both the classroom and the field stations.

Computational Thinking Equity in Elementary Classrooms: What Third-Grade Students Know and Can Do

The Computer Science Teachers Association has asserted that computational thinking equips students with essential critical thinking which allows them to conceptualize, analyze, and solve more complex problems. These skills are applicable to all content area as students learn to use strategies, ideas, and technological practices more effectively as digital natives. This research examined over 200 elementary students’ pre- and posttest changes in computational thinking from a 10-week coding program using adapted lessons from code.org’s Blockly programming language and CSUnplugged that were delivered as part of the regular school day. Participants benefited from early access to computer science (CS) lessons with increases in computational thinking and applying coding concepts to the real world. Interviews from participants included examples of CS connections to everyday life and interdisciplinary studies at school. Thus, the study highlights the importance of leveraging CS access in diverse elementary classrooms to promote young students’ computational thinking; motivation in CS topics; and the learning of essential soft-skills such as collaboration, persistence, abstraction, and creativity to succeed in today’s digital world.

The big IDEA and the PD pipeline

The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of Communications , we'll publish selected posts or excerpts. twitter Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm Former Computer Science Teachers Association executive director Mark R. Nelson discusses his work with the group to overcome core challenges to computer science education.

Game Design as a Tool to Promote Higher Order Thinking Skills

This paper reports a study conducted on enabling teaching higher order thinking skills among kids aged 7 to 12 years old. The objective of the study is to propose a conceptual framework and demonstrate the tools and resources needed by educators to embed higher order thinking skills in classroom using game design. The conceptual framework is based on the standards advocated by International Society on Technology in Education (ISTE) and Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) that is mapped to the process of game design and development. Game design is an engaging process that encapsulates many tenets of thinking skills. The tangible outcomes and progress could be used to measure the thinking process and levels that had taken place. The paper then further demonstrates the use of this framework in a three day workshop. Two sessions of the workshop were conducted with a total of 44 participants. It is hoped that this study contributes in the areas of higher order thinking skills enablers.

First impressions, unexpected benefits

The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of Communications , we'll publish selected posts or excerpts. twitter Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm Daniel Reed shares his experiences with Google Glass, while Chris Stephenson considers the kinds of support chapters of the Computer Science Teachers Association provide their members.

Implications of What Children Know About Computer Passwords

The purpose of this aricle is to present several implications and recommendations regarding what elementary school children, aged 9–12 years, know about computer passwords and what they know about why computer passwords are important. Student knowledge can then be used to make relevant curriculum decisions based in conjunction with applicable state and national standards. Weak computer password construction, use, and knowledge have been identified as areas of high risk for data security. By identifying what children know about passwords, an appropriate curriculum can be designed to help children develop strong password habits that will minimize unauthorized data access via computer technology. This is especially important because elementary school children today will become industry computer users tomorrow. By instilling appropriate computer password habits in children today, curriculum can be designed to follow them through the education experience and into industry. Relevant standards from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S), and the Association for Computing Machinery's Computer Science Teachers Association K–12 (CSTA K–12) are referenced.

Collaborating with CSTA for Computer Science Education Week

The ACM CoMMiTTee for CoMpuTing eduCATion in CoMMuniTy Colleges (CCECC) is pleased to collaborate with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) for participation in the third annual Computer Science Education (CS Ed) Week. This year CS Ed Week is December 4 -10 in honor of the late visionary computer scientist, Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, whose birthday falls on December 9. Many of America’s community colleges are partnering with their local businesses and industries to prepare students for new Information Technology-related careers. Straddling between what is considered Information Technology-infused and the more traditional Information Technology programs per se, these emergent associate degrees highlight the increasing opportunities available to students for pairing their varied non-IT career interests with core IT content. As a result, colleges are attracting a diverse range of students into associatedegree programs not only tailored to today’s career opportunities but also built on strong foundational computing skills well suited for ongoing professional growth and career development. Together the CCECC and CSTA have created an eye-catching poster showcasing forward-looking occupations in the computing field along with their related associate-degree programs. This attractive poster highlights representative samplings of possible associate-degree pathways currently offered in a variety of America’s colleges. Example pathway instantiations are described below.

In support of computer science teachers and the CSTA

A number of recent articles and comments have discussed the imbalance between enrollment and opportunities in computer science and the under-enrollments by minorities and women. An ongoing thread in Peter Denning's Communications columns and elsewhere concerns the identity of the discipline to which we belong. As the national representative from universities to the board of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), I continually see the question of the identity of our discipline both within and external to our field. The identity of computer science is nowhere more important to the discipline of computer science than in the K--12 school system. We can instruct our own students in the nature of the discipline, but those we so instruct will only be those who first choose to come to us. If we want more students, and if we want to be understood for what we are, we must clarify the message about computer science that all students will receive as part of their K--12 education. Even if one does not believe that "computer science" should be taught in the K--12 system (and I know there are those who hold that opinion), it is nonetheless necessary for us to be involved in defining for the schools that which is called "computer science." There will be courses in Photoshop, Web design, office tools, A+ certification, networking, and such, and there will be (a smaller number of) courses in Visual Basic, C++, or even Java. The simple fact is that these courses will exist in the schools, and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with that. What is a problem is for students to be misled into thinking that these are all indistinguishable and all equally describable as "computer science." The burden rests with us in the discipline to educate those who administer the schools and to urge the adoption by the schools of a relevant curriculum that meets the needs of the K--12 system but that is computer science as seen by computer scientists. There are efforts in this direction, and we should be giving them active support. The CSTA has a model curriculum for high school and is developing curricula for the lower grades. CSTA and ACM have sponsored, with NSF funding, a "leadership cohort" of teachers in all the states as a way to bootstrap a network of teachers who can, among other things, speak as a group with a coherent voice about policy. And the ACM Education Policy Committee provides a voice from ACM in which all of us in the discipline have a stake. We have come more recently to this than, say, biology or mathematics, but the machinery now exists for computing practitioners and teachers to speak to those whose administrative decisions outside our discipline have a major impact on us. A Communications Viewpoints contribution by Wilson and Harsha (September 2009) provides a summary of status and progress.

IT programs in high schools

Introduction Student enrollment in college computer science (CS) and information technology (IT) programs are in a downward trend in most developed countries. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and their counterparts in other countries forecast an increased need for skilled CS/IT graduates. To reverse the downwards trend in college level CS/IT enrollment, ACM launched the Computer Science Teachers Association (csta.acm.org), whose mission is to "directly and passionately" advocate for computer science education in the high school. One major initiative is to develop a comprehensive computer science curriculum that educates high school students and informs them about the profession because a major factor in the enrollment decline is a lack of knowledge about possible CS/IT careers. In this article, we examine one CS/IT program (the Cisco Networking Academy that has been offered in high schools since 1978) to understand what lessons we can draw for other CS/IT high school initiatives.

Computer science teacher preparation is critical

In this paper, we report on the research and recommendations of the CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association) Teacher Certification Task Force, addressing the crisis in computer science teacher preparation and certification. This paper will address the importance of computer science as a scientific discipline, and provide a brief discussion of the relevant research and current existing certification models Primarily, however, this paper focuses on the Task Force's recommended models for teacher preparation and certification in computer science.

Online courses: North Carolina business and IT courses

Deborah Seehorn, of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction aroused my curiosity and interest when I met her a few months ago at one of the CSTA (The Computer Science Teachers Association) board committee meetings.

Developing resources to support a national computer science curriculum for K-12

This session will continue efforts by the ACM and Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) to create a comprehensive body of resources to support the implementation of a national K-12 computer science curriculum. The ACM K-12 Computer Science Curriculum Committee, with input from the Computer Science educational community, published a Model Curriculum [1] in 2003. The Model suggests a four-level curriculum. Level-I topics, primarily for the K-8 years, closely follow the well-defined ISTE Standards [2]. Level-II topics are suggested for all students in grades 9 or 10 and are comprised of introductory computer science content. Level-III topics focus on analysis and design with emphasis on the scientific and engineering aspects of computer science. The Level III course is intended for students who may be interested in continuing their education in computer science at the college level. AP Computer Science and special topics courses comprise Level-4. This special session will focus on the learning objectives and activities for Level III of the K-12 Computer Science Model curriculum. Attendees will be invited to provide critical feedback that will help move the curriculum project forward.

Working together to improve K-12 computer science education

The on-going crisis in K-12 computer science education is now exacerbating pipeline issues at all educational levels. This session explores Computer Science Teachers Association's perspective on addressing the challenges facing K-12 computer science and how the solutions will the benefit both secondary and post-secondary education.