Investigating the Dynamic Change of Pre- And In-service Teachers’ Experiences, Attitudes, And Perceptions Through CS Autobiography Using Topic Modeling

Shan Zhang, Hai Li, Hongming Li, Anthony F Botelho, Maya Israel

Abstract: K-12 Computer Science (CS) education has seen remarkable growth recently, driven by the increasing focus on CS and Computational Thinking (CT) integration. Despite the abundance of Professional development (PD) programs designed to prepare future CS teachers with the required knowledge and skills, there is a lack of research on how teachers’ perceptions and attitudes of CS and CT evolve before and after participating in these programs. To address this gap, our exploratory study aims to study the dynamics of pre-and in-service teachers’ experiences, attitudes, and perceptions towards CS and CT through their participation in a K-12 CS education micro-credential program. In this study, we employed topic modeling to identify topics that emerged from teachers’ written pre- and post-CS autobiographies, conducted statistical analysis to explore how these topics evolve over time and applied regression analysis to investigate the factors influencing these dynamics. We observed a shift in teachers’ initial feelings of fear, intimidation, and stress towards confidence, fun, and feeling competent in basic CS, reflecting a positive transformation. Regression analysis revealed that features, such as experienced teacher status and CT conceptual understanding, correlate with participants’ evolving views. These observed relationships highlight the micro-credential’s role in not only enhancing technical competency but also fostering an adaptive, integrative pedagogical mindset, providing new insights for course design.