Research Description 

The overall research focuses on two interrelated research threads: (a) teacher competencies and sensemaking within the micro-credential based professional development intervention and (b) institutional factors surrounding access to and recognition of teacher professional learning opportunities.

Research on Teacher Competencies and Sensemaking in CT Disciplinary Integration 

The goal of this research thread focuses on (a) how teachers conceptualize and articulate how CT can be used as a pedagogical strategy within their core discipline; (b) how different professional learning elements of a micro-credential based professional development support teacher competencies to engage in enhanced disciplinary teaching via computational thinking; and (c) how teachers engage in sensemaking around the integration of CT to their core disciplinary subject areas (i.e., Social Studies, English Language, and Arts) as mediated by their prior pedagogical and content knowledge as well as by the institutional constraints/affordances. 

Research on Access to and Recognition of Integrated CT Professional Learning

The goal of this research thread focuses on the issues regarding access to and recognition of professional learning around disciplinary integration of computational thinking, and how a micro-credential design mediates these factors. More specifically, we explore how institutional factors shape teacher professional learning in computational thinking both before and after professional development experiences, how teachers access professional learning, how this learning is recognized, and how and whether a micro-credential design impacts these factors. 

Publications and Conference Presentations 

• Caskurlu, S., Dunbar, K., Yadav, A., Santo, R., & Leon, C. (accepted). Teacher competencies for CT integration into K-12 curriculum: A systematic review. Paper accepted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Orlando, FL.
• Caskurlu, S., Yadav, A., Santo, R. (accepted). Preparing teachers for computational thinking integration in K-12: A meta-aggregation. ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. (Virtual Event, USA)
• Caskurlu, S., Yadav, A., Santo, R., Dunbar, K. (under review). Professional development as a bridge between teacher competencies and computational thinking integration. In A. Yadav & U. Berthelsen (Eds). Computational Thinking in Compulsory Education: A Pedagogical Perspective. Taylor and Francis.