Abstract
This paper describes and evaluates aspects of a professional development programme for existing CS teachers in secondary schools (PLAN C) which was designed to support teachers at a time of substantial curricular change. The paper’s particular focus is on the formation of a teacher professional development network across several hundred teachers and a wide geographical area. Evidence from a series of observations and teacher surveys over a two-year period is analysed with respect to the project’s programme theory in order to illustrate not only whether it worked as intended, by why. Results indicate that the PLAN C design has been successful in increasing teachers’ professional confidence and appears to have catalysed powerful change in attitudes to learning. Presentation of challenging pedagogical content knowledge and conceptual frameworks, high-quality teacher-led professional dialogue, along with the space for reflection and classroom trials, triggered examination of the teachers’ own current practices.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 30-53 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Computer Science Education |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 21 Apr 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2017 |
Keywords
- Computer science education
- Teacher education
- Professional learning