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Computer Science (CS) is a subject which is perceived as a difficult to learn and to teach. Building on previous work (Fisher et al., 2015), which explored post-primary school teacher reactions to a social constructivist Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programme in CS, this paper explores the same teachersâ experiences of learning CS during the workshops. The CS CPD workshops were delivered using the Bridge21 model of 21st century teaching and learning. This paper examines the extent to which the Bridge21 activity model proved effective in helping teachers learn computing knowledge and skills and explores teacher attitudes towards applying their new learning in the classroom. Nine workshops took place over the 2013/2014 academic year, resulting in 45 teaching hours and 110 teacher engagements. An exploratory case study approach informed data collection with comparative coding used to analyse results. Analysis indicates that peer-collaboration played an important role in assisting teachers develop computing knowledge and skills and that teachers intend to use the Bridge21 model to teach computing in their own classrooms. |
