Assessing middle-school teachers' attitudes and usage of CS Unplugged

Abstract

Computer Science (CS) Unplugged is a set of activities that allow students to explore computer science concepts without using a computer. Prior research on the effectiveness of CS Unplugged classroom activities has focused primarily on student attitudes and learning outcomes. Teacher understanding and comfort level with the curriculum must also be considered when assessing whether CS Unplugged is a viable option in the classroom. We developed a set of lesson plans that fit a traditional middle school classroom and presented these lessons to teachers through a 2-day workshop. We used surveys and deployment reports to determine whether teachers would be comfortable with the CS Unplugged activities, whether they understood the underlying material, and whether they would use CS Unplugged in their classrooms. Through our research, it was found that teachers are comfortable with the Unplugged curriculum, have high levels of understanding of the material, and will use the Unplugged activities in their classrooms.