The survey yielded a rich, wide ranging set of findings. However, when considered together, those findings lead to three main conclusions:
- As a field, computer science education professional development needs to move toward more coherence.
- As a field, computer science education professional development needs to move toward better fitting the needs of the groups that will comprise the computer science teacher workforce.
- As a field, computer science education professional development needs to focus more on teaching and learning in the classroom.
This table synthesizes all of the summary tables in this report. It communicates some of the issues that emerged from the data and offers recommendations for future goals for computer science education professional development. As with the other tables in this report, note that these recommendations are framed as “Less” and “More” intentionally, recognizing that no single approach or model of professional development is a fit for every situation. Further, it is important to acknowledge that there is work to be done to move the field from “Less” to “More” and that that work will take some time. Finally, the recommendations are grounded in some of the generally accepted principles about professional development that reside in the literature. For references, see the “Resources” section of this report.
Issue |
Less |
More |
Relevance and Fit |
University developed professional development |
University and school co-developed professional development |
Priority |
Higher education driven |
School and district driven |
Investment |
Externally funded professional development |
Co-funded professional development |
Class Size |
--- |
Relatively small numbers of participants |
Audience |
Heterogeneous groups |
Homogenous groups |
Recruitment |
Casting a broad net for participants in PD experiences |
Targeting participants and audience for PD experiences |
Exposure and Dosage |
Single opportunities with little follow-up |
Continuing exposure to professional development experiences for more hours over longer periods of time |
Isolation |
Professional development out of school |
School based and/or job-embedded professional development |
Unreached |
--- |
Providing opportunities when they don't already exist |
Fit |
Widely varied disciplinary and pedagogical content |
Disciplinary and pedagogical content aligned to goals and target audience |
Pedagogical Understanding |
Vaguely defined pedagogical content |
Clarified pedagogical strategies and specified classroom applications |
Classroom Application |
Isolated content and approaches |
Content and pedagogy directly tied to teachers' instructional goals, curricular frameworks and/or courses |
Underrepresented |
--- |
Explicit attention to increasing access and equity |
Educating Teachers |
--- |
Opportunities for small group discussion and reflection |