Integrating computer science (CS) into school curricula has become a worldwide preoccupation. Therefore, we present a CS and Robotics integration model and its validation through a large-scale pilot study in the administrative region of the Canton Vaud in Switzerland. Approximately 350 primary school teachers followed a mandatory CS continuing professional development program (CPD) of adapted format with a curriculum scaffolded by instruction modality. This included CS Unplugged activities that aim to teach CS concepts without the use of screens, and Robotics Unplugged activities that employed physical robots, without screens, to learn about robotics and CS concepts. Teachers evaluated positively the CPD and their representation of CS improved. Voluntary adoption rates reached 97% during the CPD and 80% the following year. These results combined with the underpinning literature support the generalisability of the model to other contexts.
There is an increasing implementation of digital education programs at the local government level. While internal factors are widely believed to increase the success of such programs, there is little evidence on whether the program structure influences implementation. Using the example of the program "education numérique" (EDUNUM) in the canton of Vaud, we conducted six case studies in the framework of which we talked to thirty school representatives that participated in this education program. The findings show that one of the most important success factors of the EDUNUM project is related to the individual knowledge and resources of the organization implementing the program. The focus of the courses on "unplugged" activities carried out without the use of screens, such as computers and tablets, and the explicit effort of the program instructors to adapt the content of courses to teachers' needs have contributed to the high appreciation of courses by the teachers. Our results show that the implementation of the program can be successful even when the organization structure is unbalanced. These results highlight the need for more research into the implementation of digital education programs that provide digital literacy skills to a new generation of citizens.
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