In the model graduate level class where the teachers learned about and developed their coding skills via the CALC approach, teacher efficacy increased.  When the teachers implemented the CALC approach in their classrooms, teacher efficacy was dependent on the classroom setting.  For those classroom where students perform at similar academic levels, teacher comfort increase as they gained experience using the CALC approach to teach coding.  For the classrooms where students had a wide range of academic ability, teacher comfort with coding seemed to remain constant. We are finding that more time is needed to help teachers develop their in-the-classroom activities particularly for teachers who need activities for sub-groups of students.  I anticipate these teachers’ comfort level will increase as they gain more experience. But, in both cases, the teachers are comfortable with the argumentation aspects of CALC.

Compared to our control school districts, our overall (but early) assessment indicates that the teacher's comfort level using the CALC process to teach coding within a math or science lesson generally increased.

To measure teacher efficacy, we used a) an online survey,b) individual teacher interviews before enrolling in our prototype course and after completion of the course, and c) individual teacher interviews before and after teachers implemented a lesson plan using the CALC approach.   Several of the prototype course assignments asked for reflections and we are in the process of assessing those reflections.

Regarding student learning, we did not conduct a direct measurement.  Our focus is assessing how teachers use the CALC approach to make coding an integral part of math and science.  We have assessed some of the student work to see how the lesson plans translated to student activities.    We are in the process of assessing how student interest in coding changed after the CALC approach was implemented, but that assessment will not be complete until the end of May.

Thanks for the detailed response, Tim!

Thank you for your comments.  We have learned that a few teachers have been able to incorporate coding into social studies lessons.  The students plotted out the Oregon Trail, had to determine the path to take to travel from East Coast to Oregon, then use argumentation on how to code a robot to travel that path.

The connections to the literacy aspects of coding and argumentation are there but I only have observation data at this time. We are currently reviewing our video records and "coding" out the conversations taking place during the "computer coding" work.  Hopefully, I can provide more details by August.  (a group of 8 graduate students is working every day this summer on this project)

For three years, we taught monthly PD for teachers on collective argumentation; the focus was mathematics, science, and the social sciences.  Two years before those workshops, we taught PDs focused on robotics; the focus was to help middle and high school teachers understand the coding behind robotics and why there needed to be a manufacturing workforce that needed coding skills (we had partners from local manufacturing facilities). Through those experiences, we developed the CALC project. 

We have found that the teachers have been able to use collective argumentation in the coding process and hopefully will be publishing on this topic in the very near future.