The rapid pace of technological advancement and its immersive impact on our society underscores the need for all students to acquire fundamental knowledge and skills in computer science. Teachers are critical to the efforts to expand access and equity in computer science education. Developing teachers' knowledge, practice, and professional…

Context: With the introduction of Computer Science (CS) into curricula worldwide, teachers' adoption of CS pedagogical content is essential to ensure the long-term success of reform initiatives. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs play a key role in this process. Unfortunately, adoption is seldom evaluated in CS-CPDs or CPDs in…

In a nationwide initiative to increase computer science Education in K-12, many teachers were recruited to CS teaching positions but without adequate preparation, which can lead to lack of confidence and feelings of isolation [35, 54]. In response to these issues, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a newly developed…

Developing student interest is critical to supporting student learning in computer science. Research indicates that student interest is a key predictor of persistence and achievement. While there is a growing body of work on developing computing identities for diverse students, little research focuses on early exposure to develop multilingual…

The increasing prevalence of AI in everyday life has intensified the emphasis on teaching AI literacy to children. However, there is no consensus on the specific knowledge and skills that constitute children's AI literacy, resulting in varied AI learning materials for young people. We systematically searched for educational practices for…

Instrument development is an important step towards unlocking the analytical power of teacher attitudes and beliefs towards Computer Science (CS). Teacher dispositions have strong empirical and theoretical ties to teacher motivation, professional choices, and classroom practices. To determine consensus desirable attitudes and beliefs, we analyzed…

The language and concepts used by curriculum designers are not always interpreted by children as designers intended. This can be problematic when researchers use self-reported survey instruments in concert with curricula, which often rely on the implicit belief that students' understanding aligns with their own. We report on our refinement of a…

Objectives: Limited research exists on how new computer science (CS) teachers understand fundamental Internet principles. This knowledge gap hinders the development of effective upskilling courses, especially as new CS curricula are being introduced worldwide. This study investigates new CS teachers' conceptions of fundamental Internet principles,…

Student-directed projects--projects in which students have individual control over what they create and how to create it--are a promising practice for supporting the development of conceptual understanding and personal interest in K-12 computer science classrooms. In this article, we explore a central (and perhaps counterintuitive) design…

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Minecraft-based coding activities on computational thinking (CT) of middle school students. In the study, CT was conceptualized so that it encapsulates not only the knowledge of computational concepts (e.g., loops and conditionals) but also the use of CT practices (e.g., testing and debugging).…

Through a mixed-methods approach that utilized teacher surveys and a focus group with computer science (CS) instructional coaches, this study examined elementary teachers' confidence in meeting the needs of students with disabilities, the extent to which the teachers could use the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework in CS education, and…

Objectives: The increasing demand for computing skills has led to a rapid rise in the development of new computer science (CS) curricula, many with the goal of equitably broadening the participation of underrepresented students in CS. While such initiatives are vital, factors outside of the school environment also play a role in influencing…

Here, we present the results of a study of in-service teachers' responses to equity-based case study vignettes focused on racialized classroom incidents. This study was conducted in the context of an ongoing research practice partnership aimed at integrating computer science concepts in elementary grades. Our work took place in a public school…

Motivation: As K-12 computing education becomes more established throughout the world, there is an increasing focus on accessibility for all, whether in a particular country or setting or in areas of the world that may not yet have computing established. This is primarily articulated as an equity issue. The recently developed "capacity…

As emerging technologies are rapidly advancing as part of our societies and everyday life, it is crucial to include and empower all students in learning about computing and advanced technologies. These include technical capabilities of algorithms, such as the use of AI, that enable novel interactions between humans and their environment and give…