What do the Teachers Think?

Abstract

This paper reports on the preliminary results of an ongoing study examining the teaching of new primary school topics based on Computational Thinking in New Zealand. We analyse detailed feedback from 13 teachers participating in the study, who had little or no previous experience teaching Computer Science or related topics. From this we extract key themes identified by the teachers that are likely to be encountered when deploying a new curriculum, including unexpected opportunities for cross-curricula learning, development of students' social skills, and engaging a wide range of students. From here we articulate key concepts and issues that arise in the primary school context, based on feedback during professional development for the study, and direct feedback from teachers on the experience of delivering the new material in the classroom.