Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Education

Supervisor

Gadanidis, George

Abstract

Coding has been introduced into K through 12 curricula worldwide, yet most teachers lack firsthand experience with it, either as students or in their adult lives. For teachers to support student learning with coding, they must first gain experience and develop effective teaching approaches. Teacher education programs can play a role in this. This study investigates how preservice teachers’ perspectives on coding and teaching and learning mathematics evolved as a result of: (a) course experiences (activities, assignments, discussions, and reflections); and (b) mathematics and coding teaching experiences. The study was conducted over six years, with six cohorts of preservice teachers enrolled in a 36-hour course called “Computational Modelling in Mathematics and Science Education” in a Bachelor of Education program at an Ontario university. The 53 participants selected for this study opted to teach a mathematics and coding lesson as part of a final assignment in the course. The study employed a constructivist theoretical framework, qualitative research methods, and reflexive thematic analysis. Four preservice turning points were identified, which involved shifts in perspectives about teaching and learning mathematics and coding. These turning points were analyzed using the lenses of (a) Seymour Papert’s theory of constructionism, and (b) Yasmin Kafai and Quinn Burke’s computational participation framework. By translating the findings as recommendations for practice, the study presents a model for teacher education that provides insights for researchers and teacher educators.

Summary for Lay Audience

Computer programming, or coding, has been introduced in curriculum around the world, yet most teachers do not have first-hand experience with coding either as young learners, or in their adult lives. To support students with learning coding, teachers need to gain experience with coding and learn effective practices for teaching coding. Teacher education programs can play a role in this. The study investigates how preservice teachers’ perspectives on coding and teaching and learning mathematics changed as a result of teacher education experiences and mathematics and coding teaching experiences. The study was conducted over six years, with six groups of preservice teachers enrolled in a 36-hour course called “Computational Modelling in Mathematics and Science Education” in a Bachelor of Education program at an Ontario university. The study found that the preservice teachers experienced four turning points that resulted in shifts in their perspectives about teaching and learning mathematics and coding. These turning points were used to organize the data and became part of a narrative that is described in the results. The turning points were analyzed and connected to key ideas of educational theorists. The findings from this study were used to create a mathematics and coding teaching model that may be used by researchers and teacher educators.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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