Computational thinking integrated science: how professional development can support elementary teachers

Computational thinking (CT) is a critical set of 21st century skills that young learners must develop to be successful in contemporary work and life. As more K-12 schools begin to integrate CT into the curriculum, elementary preservice teachers (EPSTs) must be prepared to teach CT to their future students. Therefore, elementary teacher preparation programs should explore ways to incorporate CT into their coursework, ensuring that EPSTs graduate with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach CT. This study investigates the impacts of a three-week CT module implemented in a technology integration course in an elementary teacher preparation program on EPSTs’ CT value beliefs, self-efficacy, and teaching efficacy. The purpose of the module was to introduce EPSTs to basic concepts and big ideas in CT, support their application of CT in block-based coding environments, and promote connection building between CT and authentic real-world scenarios that balance different types of CT activities. Guided by the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (IMPG), this study examined EPSTs’ learning as a dynamic process of change across the personal and external domains. The module was located in the external domain as a stimulus for learning, while the Teacher Beliefs about Coding and Computational Thinking (TBaCCT) instrument was used to assess changes in value beliefs, self-efficacy, and teaching efficacy within the personal domain. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to analyze pre- and post-surveys administered to 50 EPSTs and semi-structured interviews with four of the EPSTs. The results showed that the beliefs of the CT value of EPSTs evolved and their self-efficacy and teaching efficacy of CT significantly improved after participating in the module, suggesting that the interaction between external learning experiences and internal belief systems - facilitated by reflection and action - contributed to early professional growth. Notably, EPSTs also developed a more accurate understanding of CT, recognized the benefits of both plugged and unplugged CT activities, and expressed a desire for continued CT learning and professional development. Although EPSTs expressed concerns with the scarcity of physical computing toys in schools, they demonstrated a commitment to incorporating CT activities into their teaching and exploring alternative funding avenues to acquire such resources. Practical implications include potential approaches for elementary teacher preparation programs to embed CT into existing curricula.

School systems globally have begun to integrate computational thinking (CT) practices into elementary teaching and learning standards to provide young students with a comfort for and foundational understanding of computer science. This integration requires educating teachers to develop and implement CT learning opportunities. Our work contributes to best practice by exploring the role language plays in elementary teachers' discussions and development of CT-infused science lessons. To do this, we captured and analyzed the language used by elementary teachers as they spoke and wrote about CT in a multi-week professional development experience during which the teachers created and delivered CT-infused lessons to their students. We determined that teachers exhibited differing CT conceptualizations, which we categorized from broad to narrow. These differences were not, however, observed in either their spoken or written language. While there were instances of teachers using language that mirrored how the facilitators discussed CT, this use did not align with how they conceptualized CT. Our work analyzing connections between CT language use and CT conceptualization suggests that in order to understand how teachers are conceptualizing CT, professional development designers and teacher educators should focus on creating opportunities for teachers to employ CT practices in context rather than relying only on language. We feel this will support a more precise and nuanced engagement with CT.

This study investigates the integration of Computational Thinking (CT) into STEAM education, particularly focusing on Mathematics and Professional Development (PD) for educators. Through a systematic review conducted across several databases, we analyzed 40 articles on the current state of Professional Development in CT within STEAM subjects, emphasizing definitions and their integration into existing curricula. We focused on scientific papers that examined the relationship between the studied concepts (CT, Computer Science - CS, and Math), excluding those that solely focused on CT or CS. We applied a dual review protocol to ensure accuracy and reduce the risk of bias. Our findings reveal a strong emphasis (82.5%) on curriculum integration. Interestingly, pre-service and in-service teachers are disproportionately targeted, while university-level training remains limited (5%). Additionally, a growing trend highlights an interest in exploring the synergy between Computer Science and CT and underscores CT PD’s infancy within STEAM education. Furthermore, the study identifies a surprising need for increased reference (25%) to pioneering figures like Papert and Wing in the existing literature. The methodology employs keyword analysis and the Jaccard index to measure concept similarity. This study uniquely focuses on studying the reported transfer of CT knowledge and definition in the context of PD. It offers a new perspective on the reported envisioned relationship between CT and CS when preparing and delivering PD. It also identifies gaps, preferences in teacher training, and opportunities for enhancing CT integration in STEAM education. It emphasizes the need for improved Professional Development and clearer definitions to effectively integrate CT into STEAM education, particularly at the university level, and provides recommendations for both educators and policymakers.

Incorporating computational thinking (CT) ideas into core subjects, such as mathematics and science, is one way of bringing early computer science (CS) education into elementary school. Minimal research has explored how teachers can translate their knowledge of CT into practice to create opportunities for their students to engage in CT during their math and science lessons. Such information can support the creation of quality professional development experiences for teachers. We analyzed how eight elementary teachers created opportunities for their students to engage in four CT practices (abstraction, decomposition, debugging, and patterns) during unplugged mathematics and science activities. We identified three strategies used by these teachers to create CT opportunities for their students: framing, prompting, and inviting reflection. Further, we grouped teachers into four profiles of implementation according to how they used these three strategies. We call the four profiles (1) presenting CT as general problem-solving strategies, (2) using CT to structure lessons, (3) highlighting CT through prompting, and (4) using CT to guide teacher planning. We discuss the implications of these results for professional development and student experiences.

The PISA data results show that computational thinking abilities are still lacking. Computational thinking ability is influenced by gender. This research aims to analyze patterns of computational thinking skills of prospective elementary school teachers based on gender at 8 universities in Indonesia. In this research, the components of computational thinking skills analyzed are abstraction, algorithmic, decomposition, and pattern recognition. This research is a mix method research with research subjects as many as 234 prospective elementary school teachers at 8 higher educational institutions. The instruments used were test and interviews. The data analysis technique used is a quantitative data analysis technique using SEM PLS and for qualitative data analysis using miles and Huberman. The research results show that computational thinking skills are still low on the decomposition and pattern recognition components. Based on the SEM PLS test results, it shows that computational thinking abilities are related to gender. In general, the computational thinking ability of female students is slightly higher in all sub-indicators than men and there are differences in the pattern of computational thinking ability between male and female elementary school teacher prospective. The ability of prospective female elementary school teachers to answer in more detail and more structured, while the answers of male prospective teachers are shorter and less comprehensive. Recommendations for developing computational thinking skills by developing problem-based learning, contextual project-based learning and STEAM based learning.

STEM professional development program for gifted education teachers: STEM lesson plan design competence, self-efficacy, computational thinking and entrepreneurial skills

The use of data to explain natural phenomena has been a core feature of science education, and science educators continue to call for an increased emphasis on teaching data practices. This mixed methods design-based research study adds to the growing body of research on data practices in science by explaining the learning trends of science teachers involved in a three-year collaborative professional development (PD) using computational thinking (CT) and self-regulated learning (SRL) as a means to support teachers in implementing data practices. The PD resulted in long-term high-quality teacher learning outcomes for all three elements of the PD (data practices, CT, and SRL) despite the upheaval of teaching platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the teachers were involved in design-based research, their professional learning focused on collaboratively creating an electronic, interactive notebook with lessons for use in science classrooms across the United States. Creating a common product as an outcome of the PD may have served as motivation for teachers to learn about and implement more data practices, CT, and SRL, which suggests that design-based research is another valuable design for teacher PD.

In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards advocate for the integration of computational thinking (CT) as a science and engineering practice. Additionally, there is agreement among some educational researchers that increasing opportunities for engaging in computational thinking can lend authenticity to classroom activities. This can be done through introducing CT principles, such as algorithms, abstractions, and automations, or through examining the tools used to conduct modern science, emphasizing CT in problem solving. This cross‐case analysis of nine high school biology teachers in the mid‐Atlantic region of the United States documents how they integrated CT into their curricula following a year‐long professional development (PD). The focus of the PD emphasized data practices in the science teachers' lessons, using Weintrop et al.'s definition of data practices. These are: (a) creation (generating data), (b) collection (gathering data), (c) manipulation (cleaning and organizing data), (d) visualization (graphically representing data), and (e) analysis (interpreting data). Additionally, within each data practice, teachers were asked to integrate at least one of five CT practices: (a) decomposition (breaking a complex problem into smaller parts), (b) pattern‐recognition (identifying recurring similarities in data practices), (c) algorithms (the creation and use of formulas to predict an output given a specific input), (d) abstraction (eliminating detail in order to generalize or see the “big picture”), and (e) automation (using computational tools to carry out specific procedures). Although the biology teachers integrated all CT practices across their lessons, they found it easier to integrate decomposition and pattern recognition while finding it more difficult to integrate abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and automation. Implications for designing professional development experiences are discussed.

Problem solving and computational thinking are the key competences that all individuals need for professional fulfillment, personal development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. In mathematics, during contextualized problem solving using Maple, the differences between these two skills become thinner. A very important feature of Maple for problem solving is the programming of animated graphs: an animation obtained by generalizing a static graph, choosing the parameter to be varied and its interval of variation. The first objective of this research is to analyze the computational thinking processes behind the creation of animated graphs for the resolution of a contextualized problem. To this end, we selected and analyzed some resolutions of problems carried out by fourth-grade students of upper secondary schools in Italy (grade 12). The paper shows some examples in which different processes of computational thinking have emerged, which reflect resolutive strategies and different generalization processes. From the analysis it emerged that all the processes underlying the mental strategies of the computational thought useful for solving problems are activated in the creation of animated graphs. In the second part of the article we discuss examples of animations created during training activities with secondary school teachers, and how animations can support the learning of scientific concepts. It is very important to train the teachers in this regard, both to understand the processes that the students would activate during the creation of animated graphics and to enrich the theoretical or practical explanations with animated representations.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and Computer Science (CS) are the driving forces of the United States prosperity. While there is a high demand to close the gap in STEM+CS jobs, there is little research in K-12, especially in K-5 level. Elementary teachers lack of self-confidence in STEM+CS and there is limited number of teacher training. Here, Integrating Computational Thinking (CT) in elementary science classrooms comes into prominence. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize that CT learning is an important part of the elementary curriculum. It can be translated that elementary science teachers should have the self-efficacy, interest, and confidence to integrate CT into their teaching. It is not an easy task to expect such a demand from pre-service elementary science teachers (PST) unless necessary training is provided. It leads us to modify our elementary science teaching methods course to integrate CT to improve PST’ CT self-efficacy beliefs, interest, and confidence in elementary science teaching. The goal of our research is to investigate the changes in PST’ CT teaching efficacy beliefs, interest, and confidence after participating in CT training as part of an undergraduate elementary science teaching methods course. We have found that our course improved PST’ CT self-efficacy, interest, and coding confidence.

Based on historical knowledge, man created many technologies to assist him in the production of his existence. This work sought, through qualitative-quantitative research based on the hypothetical deductive method, to research the use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICTs) in the teaching-learning process in EPT and sought to answer whether the theory of Computational Thinking (CP) can contribute to professional and technological education. In the first stage, he presented the theoretical foundation through bibliographical research that addressed the topics of technology, professional and technological education and computational thinking. In the next stage, indirect documentary research was carried out on the pedagogical project of the technical course in IT at the IFMG campus Formiga. At this stage, Iramuteq software was used to process content. The third stage was the development of a digital tool based on bibliographical research and supported by the concepts of Computational Thinking. The fourth stage was the evaluation and validation of the tool developed by teachers of the technical disciplines of the IT technical course researched. Finally, in the fifth and final stage, the analysis, conclusions and final considerations were developed.

This article communicates the results of a Danish survey study conducted in 2018 that aimed to examine initiatives relating to computational thinking in primary and lower-secondary schools, as well as the professional development of teachers and the perceptions of school principals in this area. The context is an increasing interest in this field, motivated by a sense that it is important for children to learn computational thinking skills. However, educators struggle with questions regarding what computational thinking in education actually is—and consequently, how they should teach and assess it. In this survey, we wanted to explore existing practices and current situations to find out what school principals regard as important; thus, we designed an electronic questionnaire on this topic. 98 principals started the survey, and 83 completed it. Our analysis suggests that many initiatives connected to computational thinking are currently being implemented, but according to the principals taking part, teachers are not trained to teach this subject. The principals have inclusive views and focus on broad aspects of what computational thinking involves. According to them, computational thinking is not about pushing students into computing careers; rather it is about supporting the well-rounded development of human beings in a free and democratic society. However, the principals do report limited understanding of this subject, which suggests that teachers are not the only ones in need of training—principals also need help to develop a culture and mindset around this subject and implement it efficiently into schools.

The current study explores tutors' perceptions of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to develop computational thinking (CT) skills among pre-service teachers. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected 4 principals and 20 tutors, and focus group discussions were held with 32 purposely selected pre-service teachers from 4 colleges, making a total of 56 participants. The findings revealed that tutors dominantly perceive CT as a digital literacy skill while ignoring the cognitive processes that underlie CT skills such as abstraction, algorithmic thinking, decomposition, and pattern recognition. Further, the findings show that tutors had limited understanding of identifying appropriate methods for developing CT, such as block-based programming tools. The study recommends that policymakers explicitly include CT and its aspects in the teacher education curriculum and conduct pilot testing of professional development training to foster CT skills using ICT among tutors.

Research on the integration of computational thinking skills into English language teaching, especially as a digital module, in the EFL context is limited. Moreover, the adoption of locally based cultural materials in this integration is extremely rare. To address the gaps, this mixed methods sequential explanatory study explores the effectiveness of a digital reading module focused on local female heroes in enhancing computational thinking skills among EFL students in Indonesia. Quantitative data were obtained from a pretest and a posttest administered to 30 secondary school students, determined through power analysis for sample size and recruited using random sampling. The results indicate a significant improvement in students' computational thinking, with an N-Gain score of 71.87% (High). ll participants were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of the results through a case study analysis The qualitative phase, which utilized thematic analysis, reveals that the digital reading module not only enhanced students' problem-solving abilities and logical reasoning. Furthermore, it demonstrated its effectiveness in helping students apply computational concepts to real-world scenarios. Participants also reported positive experiences with the lesson study approach, highlighting its role in refining the module and aligning it with educational objectives. Qualitative findings thus support quantitative results. This suggests that culturally relevant digital modules, combined with collaborative professional development strategies like lesson study, can effectively improve computational thinking skills in EFL contexts. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how digital tools and pedagogical frameworks can be adapted to meet the needs of diverse educational environments

The study examines the research–practice partnership (RPP) model aimed at co‐constructing and integrating computational thinking (CT) in culturally responsive (CR) ways within early childhood and elementary (PreK‐5) classrooms, focusing on teachers' RPP experiences. Recent research underlines the importance of integrating CT in early childhood and elementary education, demonstrating that culturally, linguistically, and developmentally responsive computational activities in PreK‐5 settings are key to such efforts. However, there is a gap in research regarding effective professional development models that would prepare early childhood teachers in terms of both disciplinary ideas and practices of CT, as well as attending to cultural, linguistic, and developmental differences in young children in asset‐based ways. Our research contributes to this body of knowledge by examining how RPP can be a model for teacher learning in which teachers, administrators, and researchers can co‐develop knowledge and confidence in integrating CT into the PreK‐5 teaching curriculum and practices in CR ways. The study outlines the collaborative development of processes and frameworks co‐constructed by the RPP educators, as well as teacher‐developed curricular materials and lesson plans integrating CT in CR ways. Findings include teachers' experience of these lessons and teacher insights about the support needed to incorporate CT and CR practices into their existing curricula. The study concludes by highlighting the potential challenges and opportunities inherent in such endeavors, thereby contributing to the broader discourse on supporting CT integration into early childhood classrooms in CR ways.