Date of Award

Summer 8-8-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Learning Technologies Division

First Advisor

Dr. Lauren Margulieux

Second Advisor

Dr. Brendan Calandra

Third Advisor

Dr. Ben Shapiro

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Patrick Enderle

Abstract

This dissertation explored two viable interventions addressing the need for and lack of teaching capacity in the K-12 computer science educational space. A digital society requires widespread digital literacy that includes digital fluency with the development and use of computational skills. Currently, there is a volume and a diversity issue related to participation in the computing field, such that not enough people have computing skills and those who do are not representative of society. Ensuring that all students develop computing skills through mandatory K-12 education is a broad strategy for addressing both issues. As computer science grows into a full K-12 discipline, one that will eventually need to reach every student in the school system, there are concerns about the ability to grow teaching capacity quickly enough to meet the growing demand. This dissertation explored the use of technology to expand teaching capacity for computer science (CS) education despite teacher recruitment and retention challenges. One intervention used technology to directly supplement computer science instruction. Another used technology to train and support new Computer Science teachers. The technology supported instruction was facilitated via a virtual platform, making it inherently accessible to any student with Internet access. The first article in this dissertation determines if this strategy is sufficient to engage higher percentages of students traditionally marginalized in CS experiences including students of color, girls, and students with disabilities. A similar virtual paradigm was used to expand access to teacher professional development (TPD). This approach makes the experience accessible to discrete CS teachers as well as teachers that might integrate the CS concepts into other content areas. This practice, called integrated computing, is another strategy for expanding teaching capacity. If CS skills and concepts are developed within courses that all students take, like math and science, then all students will be exposed to computing. The second article explores the viability of an asynchronous online course on integrated computing for impacting the development of teachers’ beliefs and ability in integrating CS.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/35868179

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