Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.1016/j.caeo.2026.100353

Publication Title

Computers and Education Open

Volume

10

Pages

100353

Abstract

Workforce development and education leaders have increasingly emphasized the need for high-quality computer science (CS) instruction for K-12 students. Though states have created and mandated the implementation of CS curriculum standards, few in-service teachers have been provided sufficient opportunities to develop CS pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy. This study evaluated the effect of a CS integration professional development (PD) program on K-5 teachers' perceptions of their capacity to teach CS and their implementation of CS-integrated lessons using a randomized controlled trial design. Treatment included an intensive online summer institute with school year follow-up. Results indicate statistically significant effects of the PD on teachers' confidence to teach CS, experience integrating CS into core content, and ability to engage students during CS lessons; treatment teachers also taught significantly more CS lessons than control teachers. Findings indicate that the program provides a scalable model for delivering PD designed to expand access to CS at the elementary level.

Comments

© 2026 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) International License.

Original Publication Citation

Moots, S. C., Garner, J. K., Brobst, J. A., Loney, M., Steffian, L., & Maeng, J. (2026). Supporting K-5 computer science integration through high-quality teacher professional development. Computers and Education Open, 10, Article 100353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2026.100353

ORCID

0000-0001-6540-7985 (Moots), 0000-0001-9105-5194 (Garner), 0000-0003-0605-757X (Brobst), 0000-0002-3407-5225 (Loney), 0009-0005-7587-0478 (Steffian)

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