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Updated: Sep 26, 2025

Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Building a Virtual Community of Practice: Teacher Learning for Computational Thinking Infusion
Robin Jocius1, W Ian O'Byrne2, Jennifer Albert3
1Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas at Arlington, 5th Floor, Hammond Hall, 701 Planetarium Place, Arlington, TX 76019 USA.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an urgent need for professional development (PD) experiences to support teacher learning across hybrid and digital contexts. This study investigates teachers' experiences in a Virtual Pivot, a PD workshop designed to support computational thinking integration into disciplinary teaching. Participants were 151 middle and high school content area teachers, including 49 teachers who participated in previous face-to-face workshops. Virtual Pivot employed research-based design principles for virtual teacher PD, including asynchronous and synchronous engagement, explicit instruction in technological tools and scaffolds for teacher collaboration. Data sources included pre-PD surveys (n = 151), post-PD surveys (n = 119), interviews (n = 57) and six-month follow-up surveys (n = 105). Findings describe elements of Virtual Pivot which supported teacher learning and engagement (virtual community of practice, PD structure, during-PD support, pre-PD support and badges). We conclude by discussing this study's theoretical, methodological and practical contributions for designing and investigating virtual computational thinking PD experiences.
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