Primary school teachers' opinions about early computer science education

Funke, Alexandra; Geldreich, Katharina; Hubwieser, Peter

doi:10.1145/2999541.2999547

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This is not the case with Brennan and Resnick (2012), who researched pupils' development of computational thinking. What is more noteworthy is that computational thinking is not mentioned at all in the Swedish curriculum (Statens Skolverk, 2018a), in comparison to the English curriculum where parts of computational thinking can be found as a learning goal (Funke et al, 2016).…”

Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a Swedish perspective, the answer to the first question offers some challenges, since it largely depends on the teacher. The Swedish curriculum neither regulates what to teach nor the intended learning outcomes, in contrast with curricula in other countries (Funke et al, 2016;Nordén et al, 2017).…”

Section: Pedagogical Content Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, pupils are not interested to learn programming (e.g. Funke et al, 2016), and negative attitudes towards programming are passed from pupil to pupil (Gomes & Mendes, 2007), although Jenkins (2002) found that some pupils do have a genuine interest in programming.…”

Section: Learning and Teaching Computer Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Computer programming in primary schools: Swedish Technology Teachers’ pedagogical strategies

Bjursten

Nilsson

Gumaelius

2022

Int J Technol Des Educ

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There is a recognized need for research on how to teach computer programming in primary schools in Sweden grades 4–6 (10–12-year-old pupils). Studies of teaching show the importance of teachers’ knowledge of content and pedagogy and how these two parts affect each other (i.e. pedagogical content knowledge [PCK]). Most teachers in Sweden have little or no formal education in computer programming, the revised Swedish curriculum requires them to teach it. The aim of this study is to explore the pedagogical strategies teachers use when they teach computer programming. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants, comprising 12 teachers and 2 teacher trainers. The data were analysed deductively with themes from previous research. The results show that teachers use eight pedagogical strategies, including three new strategies that have been constructed inductively: do-it-yourself, gamification and progression. These eight pedagogical strategies are mostly general, and teachers may be considered regressed experts, as they lack formal training in computer programming. They facilitate learning in a general sense, but, compared to other subjects, their PCK in computer programming is problematized. In-service teacher training is needed to increase content knowledge, thus enabling to develop PCK in computer programming. It would also be fruitful to deepen our knowledge regarding pedagogical strategies in the PCK domain of computer programming.

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Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pedagogical Content Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Computer programming in primary schools: Swedish Technology Teachers’ pedagogical strategies

Bjursten

Nilsson

Gumaelius

2022

Int J Technol Des Educ

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“…The basis of our research design is a broad-based literature review which covers the field of instructional design, teaching quality, computer science education and cognitive development. Parallel to this, we conducted interviews with five primary school teachers who had no relevant previous experience with computer science (see Funke, Geldreich, and Hubwieser 2016) and examined the Bavarian primary school curriculum for possible links to computer science. At the end of this analysis phase, a conceptual framework was formulated that also considered the specific prerequisites of the Bavarian school system.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Design-Based Research Approach for introducing Algorithmics and Programming to Bavarian Primary Schools

2019

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Computer Science (CS) is increasingly entering the early levels of childhood education, like primary school or even kindergarten. Although Germany has not yet developed mandatory guidelines for how to deal with these new topics, Bavaria seems to consider extending the field of computer science education to the primary sector in the long term. It is therefore becoming more and more necessary to gain insight into which teaching methods and content would be suitable for students at primary level. To investigate the characteristics of effective programming courses for primary schools, we developed a three-day introductory course following the design-based research approach. This article will set focus on both the theoretical foundation resulting from this specific research approach and the didactic implementation of the theoretical framework.

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“…The results suggest that the teachers, on average, feel that there is a relationship between the two subjects and that mathematics teachers are interested in working with programming but that they do not feel well prepared for taking on that task. Funke, Geldreich and Hubwieser (2016) interviewed six primary school teachers about their views of computer science, and the findings pointed out that the teachers had no clear image of what computer science in school is, but they highlighted the importance of implementing computer science in an early educational stage. Govender and Grayson (2008) studied pre-service teachers' experiences when learning object-oriented programming.…”

Section: Teachers' Relationship To Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspiring or confusing – a study of Finnish 1–6 teachers’ relation to teaching programming

Pörn¹,

Hemmi²,

Kallio-Kujala³

2021

LUMAT

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There is limited research on teaching and learning of programming in primary school and even less about aspects concerning teaching programming from teachers’ viewpoint. In this study, we explore how Finnish 1-6 primary school teachers (N=91), teaching at schools with Swedish as the language of instruction, relate to programming and teaching of programming, one year after the introduction of the new national curriculum that included programming. The teachers’ relation to programming is studied by analyzing their view on programming, perceived preparedness to teach programming and their attitudes towards teaching programming. The main results of the present study are that the responding teachers approach programming in school with mixed emotions, but the majority claim to have sufficient preparedness to teach programming, and many of them have a positive attitude towards the subject. The findings indicate that the most important factor for high perceived preparedness and positive attitude is sufficient domain knowledge. The teachers’ views on programming are very diverse, ranging from focusing only on the connection to elementary step-by-step thinking to more sophisticated reasoning connecting to central aspects of computational thinking and other educational outcomes. The findings suggest that there is a need for educational efforts to make the connection between mathematical content and programming more visible for primary school teachers.

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Primary school teachers' opinions about early computer science education

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Computer programming in primary schools: Swedish Technology Teachers’ pedagogical strategies

Computer programming in primary schools: Swedish Technology Teachers’ pedagogical strategies

A Design-Based Research Approach for introducing Algorithmics and Programming to Bavarian Primary Schools

Inspiring or confusing – a study of Finnish 1–6 teachers’ relation to teaching programming

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