Introducing the Computational Thinking–Pedagogical Content Knowledge Survey for Middle School Math Teachers

Over the past four years, Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Midwest’s ENgagement and Achievement through Computational Thinking (ENACT) partnership worked with school districts in Wisconsin to increase 6^th graders’ confidence, engagement, and achievement in math. In particular, the partnership has focused on helping teachers to incorporate computational thinking strategies and practices in their math instruction. 

Computational thinking is an approach to problem solving that uses key practices from computer science to break problems into smaller parts and think abstractly about them. Learning computational thinking strategies helps students develop problem-solving skills that can be applied in and out of the classroom, and computational thinking practices are associated with greater math achievement for middle school students.

To successfully integrate computational thinking into math instruction, teachers need pedagogical content knowledge. In other words, they need to understand math concepts, computational thinking practices, and how to teach math and computational thinking in ways that support student learning. 

REL Midwest developed and tested a new survey measure to understand middle school teachers’ knowledge around integrating computational thinking into their mathematics instruction: the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Content Knowledge (CT–PCK) Survey. The survey is the first tool to measure teachers’ knowledge and skills in integrating computational thinking practices into middle school math instruction with strong evidence of validity and reliability. REL Midwest recently released a report describing development, testing, and implications of the CT–PCK Survey.

• Read and download the full report. 

What did we learn about the CT–PCK Survey?

Key findings include the following:

• Evidence from a sample of in-service math teachers at two urban middle schools supports the use of the CT–PCK Survey as a valid and reliable tool to measure teachers’ overall knowledge of computational thinking integration in middle school math.
• On average, teachers answered 10 of the 16 items correctly (61 percent correct). About a quarter of teachers answered 7 or fewer items correctly (44 percent correct), and about a quarter answered 13 or more items correctly (81 percent correct). These findings suggest that teachers have varied levels of knowledge about how to integrate computational thinking into middle school math.
• Teachers who have traditional teaching certifications and more than five years of teaching experience scored higher on the CT–PCK Survey, suggesting that knowledge of how to integrate computational thinking practices is related to teacher training and expertise.

The 16-item CT–PCK Survey is easy to implement and takes 20 minutes for teachers to complete. Each question in the survey contains a vignette of students working on a math problem in a middle school classroom. The teacher taking the survey selects the instructional approach that uses computational thinking practices to support students’ understanding of math. 

• Read the CT–PCK User Guide for more information about how to implement the CT–PCK Survey and how to analyze and interpret data.

Districts, schools, and teachers can use the CT–PCK Survey for various purposes related to pedagogical content knowledge:

• District and school leaders, as well as instructional coaches, can use the survey to understand middle school teachers’ current knowledge of and ability to integrate computational thinking practices in math instruction.
• Districts, professional development providers, and education researchers can use the survey to measure changes in middle school teachers’ understanding of computational thinking practices after participating in professional development.
• Middle school math teachers can use the survey to assess their own baseline understanding of computational thinking practices and monitor their growth over time.

The survey is not intended to be used to evaluate teachers’ performance, the quality of their instruction, or their mathematics content knowledge. 

REL Midwest is excited to release this resource for use by communities across the Midwest and the country. Reach out to us at relmidwest@air.org to share your experiences with and questions about the resource. 

For more information about the ENACT partnership and REL Midwest’s efforts to strengthen math instruction and learning in the Midwest Region, browse the following REL Midwest resources:

• Report: Developing a Measure of Middle School Math Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Computational Thinking
• Infographic: Using the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Content Knowledge Survey for Middle School Math Teachers
• Video: Problem-solving for life: How computational thinking can benefit students
• Resources: ENgagement and Achievement through Computational Thinking (ENACT) Coaching Materials
• Blog post: ENACT teachers learn new ways of aligning instructional strategies to students’ needs
• Infographic: Middle School Math is an Important Bridge to Lifelong STEM Learning and Success