Mapping the Complexities of Teacher Change: A Conjecture Mapping Approach to Designing Computational Thinking Professional Development

Abstract

This empirical case study utilizes conjecture mapping to capture and systematically map conjectures about the support needed for K-12 teachers to incorporate computational thinking into teaching. The case analysis highlighted a teacher’s year-long professional development experience focused on integrating computational thinking. The evolving conjecture map provides a framework to trace and understand relationships between the learning designs, activities, and teacher outcomes. Using rich data from the teacher's experience, the study tests and refines the hypothesized connections laid out in the original conjecture map to build an understanding of effective computational thinking professional development design.