Understanding and developing in-service teachers’ perceptions towards teaching in computational thinking: Two studies

Abstract

In Singapore, O-Level Computing for grade 9 and 10 students was first offered as part of formal education in 2017. Due to a lack of computing teachers, the initial batches of O-Level Computing teachers were professionally developed from those who were already teaching other subjects such as math and science via a conversion course conducted by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. Beyond merely teaching about computer programming, the teachers would need to be trained to teach Computational Thinking (CT), as CT has many practical applications in real-world problem-solving. Therefore, it is imperative to understanding more about in-service teachers’ perceptions about CT when they were converted into computing teachers from other subjects. In the current paper, we proffer unplugged approach that could be deployed for teachers to develop notions and confidence about Computational Thinking, which could have implications for teacher professional development at a larger scale.