The Perceptions and Experiences of In-Service Teachers in a Computer Science Professional Development Program
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The CSPD program yielded three main themes that encompassed the participants’ experiences, enhancing their ability to teach CS at the elementary school level. These themes include program components, effective pedagogy, and the changes observed in beliefs, self-efficacy, and practices. In terms of program components, it was evident that the PD program played a crucial role in equipping teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills required for effective CS instruction. The positive experience of effective pedagogy employed by the program faculty underscores the importance of implementing appropriate instructional strategies and approaches to effectively engage teachers and facilitate their learning in CS. Moreover, the study highlighted the notable changes in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy as a result of their participation in the PD program. These changes signify the growth and development of teachers’ confidence, attitudes, and understanding in teaching CS.
5.1.1. CSPD Program Components
The participants emphasized that the CSPD program components had helped them to be aware of CS topics and skills, improving their digital literacy. For example, teacher G said “I became aware of something called digital. I always heard about digital skills, the digital world, but I was not aware of what digital means … but after this CSPD program, I felt aware and became aware of the digital world and its importance”. The participating teachers acknowledged the positive impact of two key components of the program: subject content including the development of programming skills tailored for elementary education, and micro- and macro-teaching.
Subject content. The findings show that the program’s curriculum was designed to meet the specific needs of CS teachers in developing their knowledge across various CS topics. It offered comprehensive courses covering important areas, such as programming, content analysis, cybersecurity, and multimedia creation, specifically focusing on video and audio file production. The participants indicated that the courses equipped them with the knowledge and expertise necessary to effectively integrate these subjects into their classrooms. During the focus group interview, teacher M pointed to the impact of the content analysis component in empowering teachers to understand the curriculum; she said “It was really wonderful. I have been wishing for a long time to learn how to analyze”. She also emphasized the significance of cybersecurity in the digital age, equipping teachers with the skills to educate students about online safety and privacy. She said “We were asked to design a video about cybersecurity to raise awareness for children. This is also a very beautiful experience”. Moreover, the program provided training in multimedia creation, particularly in designing video scenes and creating engaging multimedia materials. This equipped teachers with the ability to use multimedia effectively in their instruction, enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes.
Furthermore, the findings confirm that the formative assessments course is a crucial component within the CSPD program. One participating teacher, for example, highlighted that formative assessment involved the implementation of weekly assessments, carefully designed to gauge teachers’ understanding and progress in acquiring new knowledge and skills in CS pedagogy. Teacher N said that she learned the importance of formative assessment and she emphasized “I benefited from the courses, [meaning] the formative assessment course … We have recently begun utilizing worksheets in a more structured way. We now have a better understanding of how to effectively use them. We understand what content should be included in the worksheets, when it is appropriate to use them, and how to assess learning outcomes”. By regularly assessing their comprehension and performance, the formative assessments provided valuable feedback and insights to both the teachers and program facilitators, enabling them to identify areas of strength and areas that required further support or clarification.
Significantly, the findings confirm that programming is an essential component of PD for elementary CS teachers. Several teachers stated that they had no knowledge about programming and that the programming courses, Scratch and Python, had a positive impact on their PD. For instance, teacher N reflected on the programming courses and their impact on her learning experience and personal growth highlights the significant benefits of the CSPD program, as she said “Python and Scratch as well. We started learning them from the beginning … The last lessons included Scratch. If Dr. *** had not explained to us, I would have not known. How would I have conveyed the information to them [students]? I benefited. It has even affected my personality. I can speak with confidence about the information I have”. Additionally, most of the participating teachers confirmed that the programming courses were very helpful to build their knowledge of the elementary programming curriculum, as well as the self-confidence needed to teach CS in elementary schools. For example, teacher G, who has been teaching CS for two years before enrolling in the PD program, said “although I have experience with computers and have taken courses on digital applications, my knowledge was mainly limited to MS Office programs. I was not equipped to teach computer curricula”. She added, “There are things that I did not understand in the subject, and I have to go back to references … especially programming. I was suffering, but when I joined the [PD] program I was completely developed. I can say 95% without exaggeration”. This finding aligns with the literature that emphasizes the crucial requirement for K-12 CS teachers in PD programs to possess programming skills [4].
Micro- and Macro-teaching. Micro- and macro-teaching were considered by the participants as a key component of a successful PD. During the last course (field experiences) of the program, the participating teachers were enabled to deliver short sessions to peer groups. In the subsequent focus group interview, most of the teachers emphasized the importance and positive impact of micro- and macro-teaching on their professional growth. For example, teacher N explained the overall advantage of the sessions for her teaching and learning experience: “At the beginning of the semester, we had anticipated that one [micro-teaching] session would be sufficient. However, we ended up realizing the benefits of having multiple sessions, and we loved it”. Fostering active learning and engaging the teachers as learners in a supportive and collaborative environment were some elements that highlighted the benefits of the micro-teaching sessions. The teachers were able to benefit from each other’s teaching sessions, which in turn helped them develop their knowledge, skills, and pedagogy in teaching computing. While experiencing the CS curriculum as a learner, one of the teachers, S, criticized her colleague for not understanding the meanings of computing terminology. She suggested that the teacher should differentiate between a browser, search engine, and website and be mindful while framing questions to encourage students participation. Another teacher, M, suggested that her colleague should arrange her PowerPoint slides in a way that would not confuse the students. During the focus group interview, teacher M expressed the learning benefits of micro-teaching saying, “As a course [field experiences], I gained benefits from it, I would say 95%, including your guidance [faculty members], experiences of colleagues, and my exposure to the diverse teaching styles and methods. I considered your criticism [faculty members] of my colleagues as it was for me to learn from and improve not only in the subject of Digital Skills but also in the other subjects I teach”. Teacher N specified the advantages of exchanging and developing experiences with colleagues: “I attended four micro-teaching sessions for my colleagues each week. These sessions helped to strengthen my teaching skills… During each session, I learned from my colleague’s mistakes and benefited from their new ideas… I enjoyed adding new stuff to my experiences… we benefited from it [micro-teaching]”. In addition, teachers S and N emphasized the positive impact of feedback on information retention, “in micro-teaching, we attended to each other and listened to the feedback, this has helped in the information application, verification, and retention”. Teachers S, N, and B highlighted the value of these benefits in their reflection essays too.
These findings are consistent with research that shows that micro lessons should be an integral part of teacher education, as they help to develop student teachers in various ways, including enhancing their professional skills [55]. In addition, grouping teachers together while working on CS teaching and learning activities, sharing areas of interest, collaborating with each other, discussing issues related to their curricula, and collating and curating a body of knowledge around CS practices was recommended in the literature to maximize the benefits of PD [56]. Learning CS concepts and teaching strategies together provided a valuable opportunity for teachers as they not only practiced new concepts, but also experienced the struggle of learning new knowledge in a supportive environment [57].
Furthermore, the teachers pointed out the importance of learning with and from each other, “what helped us were our instructors and colleagues. I mean, our colleagues in the same program provided motivation and moral support… I took advantage of every teacher who made a mistake”, and “enriching discussions with colleagues broadened my perspective and expanded my learning opportunities”, teachers N and L said, respectively. These settings would assist teachers in building relationships, communicating, and sharing field stories and problems. These findings align with the existing literature that emphasize integrating micro-teaching into PD programs in order to develop collaboration skills [55] and learn from each others’ developing practices [58].
5.1.2. CSPD Effective Pedagogy
The participants’ experiences were positively influenced by effective pedagogy implemented in the PD courses, which encompassed active learning and reflection essays. The participating teachers expressed satisfaction with their performance in courses designed to promote active learning and collaborative participation, which is in line with the findings of several other studies, including those by Veen, Zwart, and Meirink [15], Menekse [20], and Darling-Hammond, Hyler, and Gardner [14]. In addition, these findings align with the existing literature, which suggests that reflective tools help student teachers [55] and university-level CS teachers in self-education and improvement [59].
Active learning. The current study demonstrates that active and collaborative learning are vital components of effective PD programs. The participating teachers indicated that these active-teaching methods enhance their learning and teaching. For example, teacher S stated “I have noticed significant changes in my teaching approach since the first semester”. The findings emphasized the importance of teachers sharing their experiences and participating in discussions and brainstorming sessions. Teacher L highlighted the positive impact of these discussions, noting that they broadened their perspective on learning by exposing them to a variety of colleagues’ experiences. She said “enrichments in discussions; when colleagues talk about their experiences, they open my mind to other things or ways of learning”. In this regard, teacher N highlighted the effectiveness of discussions, questioning, and feedback in promoting a clear and deep understanding of the course content, as she said “the discussion we had made a significant impact on us. You know, questions that led to more questions forced us to gain a deeper understanding. This is when we learned about formative assessment, including what, when, how, and why to use it”. The CSPD program created a supportive environment for teachers to explore new teaching methods and expand their educational knowledge.
Moreover, discussions were highly appreciated in online courses. Teacher L shared her positive experience in one of the online courses: “Even though… the dialogues, experience exchanges, assignments, and discussions have been highly beneficial”. Effective online learning and teaching require a pedagogical approach that heavily relies on active and social participation. In alignment with Carrillo and Flores’s [60] study, all participating teachers reported high satisfaction with an online class that incorporated active learning, regular discussions, group participation, and constructive feedback. Describing her experience in one of the online courses, teacher S remarked “We completed the formative assessment course and gained a comprehensive understanding of the material, despite it being theoretical and online. The course was highly informative and advantageous”. However, teacher L expressed her preference for face-to-face classes: “… I do not feel fully present when listening remotely. In-person attendance is different for me. Face-to-face interactions provide a higher exchange of experiences. Despite the convenience of online courses, in-person courses offer better academic benefits”. This finding is consistent with the literature, indicating that students tend to be sensitive to the implementation of online courses and often perceive them as less advantageous compared to face-to-face classes [61]. When designing online classes for teacher education, it is important to consider the interactions between learners, instructors, technology, designs, context, pedagogies, instructional interventions, content, personal experiences, goals, activities, and feedback, leading to achieving planned goals.
Furthermore, the feedback provided by program faculty to the participants fostered constructive discussions and reflective practices, leading to improvements in their teaching methods. In her reflection essay, teacher S expressed her gratitude for receiving feedback: “Preparing the lesson in advance for my supervisor’s feedback [faculty member] and revising it before teaching made a great contribution”. Teacher G stated that teaching methods used by the program faculty were very effective in constructing deep understanding of the content, recalling new and previous knowledge, and enhancing teaching practices. She emphasized the impact of effective feedback on their teaching practices development: “Dr.*** used to give us these tasks, and when we solved them, she discussed our solution and did not give us corrections. For example, I had a misconception. She did not say: You are wrong, instead she let me conclude, and this is a very beautiful thing. She made me think, brainstorm and get to the correct conclusion”. This finding aligns with the research conducted by Rodriguez et al. [16], indicating that a critical factor for effective PD was the facilitation of active participation among teachers in their own professional development.
Reflection Essays. The teachers participating in a teaching session were required to submit a reflection essay on their teaching experience. The findings show that reflection on teaching was new for some participants. Teacher S shared her perspective in the focus group interview saying “The reflection essay form was a new experience. It was my first time reflecting on my teaching”. Despite being a new experience, the incorporation of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle into the reflection essays allowed the participating teachers to reflect on their teaching practice. In fact, all teachers have submitted their reflection essays, which include a description of their teaching experience, their feelings about it, an evaluation of the experience, an analysis of the situation, areas of improvement, and a plan for future teaching.
Furthermore, the findings indicated that reflection essays provide teachers with numerous benefits, such as encouraging critical thinking and facilitating the development of new insights and appreciations [31]. For example, teachers were able to recognize the important role of reflection in improving the practice, thus enhancing students’ comprehension. Describing her reflective process during the interview, teacher N emphasized this role, saying “I can summarize this point with this point. I can put this here. I can place this video before this point so that they [students] understand many things. Reflection is really wonderful”. The reflection essays also allowed the participating teachers to highlight the importance of professional development. Teacher B, who has not taught elementary school students, gained an understanding regarding the relationship between knowledge and practice, as she expressed her desire for improvement in her reflection essay: “Because it was the first micro-teaching lesson, in which I dealt with young students, I realized that relying solely on knowledge of teaching methods was insufficient. I need to improve my teaching skills to teach elementary school students… I need to improve my performance through practicing, utilizing faculty feedback, exchanging colleagues’ experiences, using age and content-appropriate teaching strategies, and self-learning”. Teacher G also reflected on her continuous need for professional development: “I still have a constant desire for self-improvement and am still dissatisfied with what I do”.
In addition, the benefit of reflection in enhancing future teaching practices and lesson plans was acknowledged. During the reflection process, the participating teachers were able to recognize gaps in their teaching practices and plan for future improvements. Teacher B, for instance, reflected on her lesson by identifying a weakness and developing a future plan: “I felt that my style was devoid of vitality and did not suit the age group. I adopted the traditional way of teaching rather than engaging them, and that was not good… it would be better if students applied practical steps to insert pictures from files or the internet. This method will enhance information retention. I can see that a computing lesson should include both conceptual and application aspects, with an emphasis on the application side”. Analyzing teachings practice was also raised in the focus group interview. Teacher S highlighted this benefit, saying “while I am writing the reflection, I would say next time I would not do this, I would not use this approach, I would use worksheets instead”. Moreover, reflection essays were useful tools for teachers to focus on effective teaching strategies. It helps them to evaluate their teaching experiences and identify strengths. In her reflection essay, teacher M mentioned that she employed effective strategies: “the link between pictures and concepts was appropriate and effective for the students of their age group. Pictures draw students’ attention more”. Teacher G also pointed out her appreciation for utilizing feedback with students since it helped them with learning: “Feedback is of great importance in fixing errors and confirming correct information”. Reflective practices are frequently discussed in terms of their benefits for students, but the advantages they offer to educators are often overlooked in the literature [23]. This study has filled the gap and revealed significant advantages of reflective practices for teachers. These advantages include recognizing the importance of reflection for students’ understanding, acknowledging the significance of professional growth, and enhancing future teaching practices, while increasing self-awareness by identifying weaknesses and focusing on effective teaching strategies.
5.1.3. Changes in CS Self-Efficacy, Beliefs, and Practices
The participating teachers reported significant shifts in their beliefs and self-efficacy, as well as their learning and teaching practices. This finding supports the research conducted by McGill et al. [12], highlighting the effectiveness of CSPD programs in empowering teachers to enhance their self-efficacy. In addition, the findings of this study align with Rich, Mason, and O’Leary’s [26] research, confirming that professional development programs have a significant impact on participants’ beliefs, enabling them to develop a strong sense of confidence in their ability to teach effectively.
Learning and teaching self-efficacy and beliefs. The participating teachers indicated shifts in their beliefs and self-efficacy regarding teaching CS curricula after completing the CSPD program, such as improved resource utilization and expanded understanding of CS concepts. The findings indicated that participating teachers acquired the skill of utilizing the available resources effectively. For instance, teacher S described how the CSPD program transformed her belief that a lack of desktop computers could hinder teaching computer curriculum. Through the program’s positive teaching sessions involving observation, practice, and reflection, she adopted a new perspective. She now believes that teachers can leverage the resources at hand to accomplish their instructional objectives. She expressed “Really, I do not need a computer lab to teach. It is true that it is very important, but I can harness other tools to serve the curriculum in an easy and pleasing way to the students”. She shared an intriguing example regarding a challenge her colleague encountered while attempting to teach students about keyboard components without access to a computer lab or a physical keyboard. She went on to recall “I remember a lesson when Dr. *** advised my colleague to provide her students with a printed keyboard on paper!” These findings confirmed that courses have been instrumental in empowering teachers to develop the essential knowledge and self-confidence required for teaching CS in elementary schools. This aligns with the findings of other studies [25,62], which also showed that the CSPD enabled teachers to feel at ease, while acquiring new knowledge, mastering new skills, and gaining confidence and comfort in teaching computer science.
Moreover, the results demonstrated how the participating teachers broadened their comprehension of computer-related concepts. For example, teachers G and M developed a new scheme of computing concepts. They expanded not only their understanding of computing concepts, but also their self-efficacy of learning and teaching computing concepts in English as they felt confident and proud. One of the participating teachers reflected on her newly acquired understanding of computer terminology, particularly referred to as digital literacy and computer literacy. This finding was highlighted in the focus group interview. Teacher G expressed “I became aware that there is computer terminology… It is digital literacy and computer literacy. There are certain terms. Every word I say has a meaning that is not the same as the first… there are special terms that we can say in English and in Arabic”. Teacher M added that “I have come to realize that there are terms that are specific to CS”. During the PD program, the participating teachers have always been encouraged to use computer terminology accurately. For example, during a micro-teaching lesson, teacher B mistakenly referred to two different MS Word documents as pictures, which may have caused confusion among students. A faculty member stressed the significance of differentiating between CS terms and correcting any overlapping between them. In another scenario, teacher G referred to “folders in Google Drive” as simply the “computing cloud”, and used the term “browser” interchangeably with the term “search engine”. Faculty members helped her to differentiate between the terms. Teacher S also needed to use specified computer concepts to define questions in order to remove any ambiguity and motivate students to answer them. Mixing up terms can be problematic for students in the early stages of learning computer terminology as it can lead to misunderstandings. Accurate comprehension of CS concepts is vital for improved performance and critical thinking [63].
Learning and teaching practices. The participating teachers indicated shifts in their learning and teaching practices of CS curricula after completing the CSPD program. In a specific sense, the results suggested that participating teachers emphasized the importance of creating a more active learning and enjoyable CS learning and teaching experience. As an illustration, teacher G highlighted how the CSPD program assisted her in cultivating the belief in fostering enjoyable learning and teaching for better understanding. She described a shift in her teaching approach, where she no longer concentrated solely on completing the scheduled content. Instead, her focus shifted towards understanding her students’ needs and helping them actively build knowledge, while promoting a sense of enjoyment in learning: “Now that I’ve grasped the subject matter, my concern lies not just in delivering the lesson and wrapping it up, as I did in the past. Instead, my priorities have shifted towards caring for my students, their comprehension, and their enjoyment… My beliefs have transformed from being book-centric to being student-centric”. In her reflection essay, teacher G emphasized this transformation: “I did not previously realize the importance of student-centered learning activities, with the teacher directing, organizing, and constantly providing feedback”. Teacher M shared the same belief of enjoyable learning, stating “I believe that learning through play is suitable. We need to emphasize application. Students should actively apply and find enjoyment in the process”. These results align with other studies (e.g, [17,28]) in that changes in knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy can help teachers improve their teaching practices, which in turn can enhance student learning. The present study also yielded similar findings to those of other studies [28,64] which revealed that teachers who took part in the PD program reported an increase in their confidence level to achieve the instructional objectives of CS curricula.
Moreover, the participating teachers reflected on the importance of specific teaching methods for teaching CS. Teacher S pointed to collaboration, game-based learning, and problem-based learning, as she said “Promoting collaborative work and active learning among students serves the educational lesson goals, enhances students’ understanding, and gives the lesson diversity and vitality”, and “game-based learning, problem based learning are essential [teaching methods] for CS”. Teacher B held the same belief of enjoyable learning. Reflecting on her teaching experience, she stated “I have noticed that my students often engage in activities that involve playing”. It was always highlighted by the faculty members that the learning objectives of teaching must be aligned with the education goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which encompasses the transfer of knowledge, the utilization of technology, and the localization of expertise. The faculty members further elaborated that these learning goals cannot be accomplished without incorporating active learning in a regulated manner, considering other aspects within the learning situation such as students, their backgrounds, skills, environments, and so on. This will contribute to achieving the intended objectives effectively. In micro- and macro-teaching sessions, the participating teachers applied active learning activities, such as peer evaluation, collaborative learning, hands-on activities, and application of knowledge. They also provided constructive criticism to each other for not involving students or not adopting a student-centered approach. These findings align with the existing literature that points to an effective PD, enabling teachers to engage in peer assessment [13]. Teachers S, M, and N criticized colleagues who did not use active learning and praised those who did. Many PD providers expressed a strong interest in incorporating learner-centered pedagogy, such as problem-based learning (PBL) into CS classrooms, which emphasizes the application of computational tools to solve authentic real-world problems [5].
Additionally, the participating teachers N and S illustrate how their teaching practices have evolved as they started to consider the relationship between learning objectives and assessment. Teacher N explained “In the past, we would simply add questions to a worksheet without a clear connection to a learning goal. Now, I understand that the questions in the worksheet must be linked to a specific learning objective, rather than being random. We should determine the learning goal, including what we want to measure, when, and how”. Teacher S remarked on the criteria for selecting appropriate assessment tools: “The curriculum has provided guidance on how to use assessment tools and methods to achieve educational goals. The key is to avoid using it randomly and to ensure it enhances the lesson rather than dominating it. It also means what is appropriate for different ages, needs, and learning styles, whether students are working individually or collaboratively. Before the PD program, this valuable information was not available”. This finding shows that CSPD plays a crucial role in enhancing teachers’ knowledge and skills related to assessment methods.
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