Online Professional Development for High School Teachers: Building the Capacity of a National Cadre of Teachers to Broaden Participation in Computing

A grand challenge of the computer science (CS) for all education movement is the preparation of thousands of teachers with high-quality, accessible professional development (PD) that has evidence of improving teacher knowledge and pedagogical practices necessary to support the learning needs of diverse groups of students. While regional PD programs can provide in-person learning opportunities, geographic and time constraints often inhibit participation of teachers, particularly educators from less densely populated communities. This experience report shares findings from an online PD program modified from the existing in-person Exploring Computer Science (ECS) PD program to provide teachers a facilitated online learning community model to support their first year teaching the course. Using two years of data collected from pre-and post-PD surveys and course participation observations, this experience involved 152 teachers from 34 states and Washington, DC. The findings reveal how the development of a facilitated learning community model of professional development, heavily based on shared experience among participants, can increase CS teachers' confidence in adapting and delivering lessons that are designed to be engaging and accessible to all students. Findings also suggest that teachers highly valued the opportunity to authentically collaborate around their common computer science course with diverse instructors from all corners of the United States. As CS education expands, the instructional environment described in this report provides an exemplar for how an online professional learning community design can concurrently build the specialized content knowledge, inclusive belief systems, and pedagogical skills of CS teachers.