From practice to practical: Computer science teachers teaching teachers

We examined the rules underlying the choices experienced computer science teachers with solid teaching reputation made in terms of contents and pedagogy, for the purpose of teaching their peers. These experienced teachers in parallel taught a new curricular unit for the first time in their high-school classroom, discussed the unit with other experienced teachers in a professional development (PD) course designed to this end, and prepared and led workshops for their peers on pedagogy suitable for the new unit. Using observations during the course and the workshops, as well as ad-hoc conversations with the teachers, we studied what these teachers chose to teach their peers. We found that these teachers preferred to rely mostly on their own classroom practice rather than on what they learned during the PD course. Their choices for filtering and shaping their knowledge were governed by the primary goal of practicality for their peers. We discuss these findings in light of the increased interest in supporting teachers’ peer teaching and professional learning communities, as schools adapt to the twenty-first century.