Understanding the "Teacher Experience" in Primary and Secondary CS Professional Development

Abstract

The increasing awareness for the need of effective Computer Science Education (CSE) Professional Development (PD) at the K-12 grade levels has been demonstrated by the increase in grant funding for CSE PD programs, public awareness campaigns by industry, and scale-up initiatives in schools. While the increase in funding has led to increasing availability of PD programs, funding alone does not guarantee a successful experience for teachers. This study investigates the affective experiences of a cohort of ten in-service teachers (nine middle school and one high school) as they participate in an intensive, multi-faceted summer CSE PD program at a Midwestern metropolitan university in North America. Teachers' experiences were documented in their written daily journals, which were analyzed qualitatively using thematic and sentiment analysis techniques. We find five cognitive themes that recurred throughout the program along with sentiment values associated with daily activities. Through the examination of these results, recommendations regarding how to best engage teachers by understanding their concerns and affective responses are included to help design more effective CSE PD implementations.