Effects of Professional Development on Programming Knowledge and Self-Efficacy

This Research Full Paper presents the effects of our weeklong Professional Development class on the programming skills of nineteen high school teachers, their confidence in programming, and their confidence for teaching programming. A primary objective of the CS10K and CS For All initiatives is the education of K-12 teachers in aspects of computer science and computational thinking so they can teach CS courses in their schools. Many of these educators have degrees in disciplines other than computer science, such as math, science, and business, so preparing them to teach CS is a challenge, particularly since most K-12 teachers have limited time to devote to learning new curriculum. This study describes how we managed a short course in computational thinking and programming to a group of high school teachers. We illustrate through survey data assessment and evaluation that significant gains in skill level and self-efficacy can be realized within a short but intensive week of face-to-face training. Five months later we follow-up with the same cohort to see if earlier achievements remain evident over time. Discussion throughout the paper identifies strengths and weaknesses of the training week, which is useful to others planning to undertake similar PD offerings.