In Their Own Words: Educator Reflections on Learning Programming

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With the rapid growth of computer science in K-12 education has come a significant increase in the need for computer science teachers. This demand has meant that a large number of K-12 educators are being asked to teach computer science with very little formal preparation in the subject. For many, this creates a unique experience in which they are often learning the content for the first time while simultaneously preparing to teach or actively teaching in their own classrooms. Although this can be a challenging situation, the circumstances present a somewhat rare situation in which educators can meaningfully reflect on the intersection between teaching and learning by examining their experiences and lessons learned as they participate in both worlds simultaneously. With this poster, we discuss some of the more common observations about learning programming from an analysis of responses from over 220 participants in a state-wide CS teacher preparation program. These observations may be broadly valuable for educators teaching programming courses.