Measuring Teacher Self-Efficacy for Teaching Computational Thinking (CT): Development and Validation of the T-STEM CT

• In Event: Computers and Learning: Programming and Computational Thinking

Abstract

Despite a growing recognition that K-12 teachers should be prepared to teach students computational thinking (CT) skills across disciplines, there is a lack of valid instrumentation measuring teachers’ teaching efficacy beliefs to do so. This study addresses this problem by developing and validating an instrument that measures in-service teachers’ beliefs for teaching CT. The instrument is grounded in Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and the sub-constructs of personal teaching efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy teaching beliefs. In this paper we report on the development and validation process which included expert review, cognitive interviews, factor analysis and reliability calculations. We discuss implications of how the validated, theoretically-grounded instrument can further future research on how to prepare current K-12 educators to teach CT.

Authors

• Danielle Cadieux Boulden, Code.org

• Arif Rachmatullah, SRI International

• Kevin M. Oliver, North Carolina State University

• Eric N. Wiebe, North Carolina State University