Effective CS teachers continuously develop their knowledge, practice, and professional identity to keep pace with a rapidly evolving discipline. They are reflective practitioners who examine their pedagogy, teaching strategies, strengths, and areas that need improvement or revision. This self-reflection helps teachers develop changes in attitudes and awareness, which in turn leads to growth in their ability to support students.
The Guidance for Reflective Teachers has been developed as a tool to assist CS teachers in reflecting on their own progress toward meeting the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers and to plan targeted professional learning opportunities. Teachers may complete the Self-Reflection Worksheets on their own, in partnership with a school or district instructional coach or administrator, as part of a teacher preparation program, or as part of a professional development opportunity.
The CSTA Standards for Computer Science Teachers provide clear guidance around effective and equitable CS instruction in support of rigorous CS education for all K–12 students. The Standards:
- Explain what CS teachers should know and be able to do
- Establish benchmarks for CS professional learning
- Provide goals to guide teachers’ professional learning and continuously develop their teaching practice from novice to master CS teachers
CS teachers enter the field from many different areas of specialization, and their preparation varies significantly. Each indicator is a roadmap to support teachers from multiple entry points as they identify their strengths and areas for growth.
The Standards represent a collaborative effort to provide a vision of CS teaching and learning based on the latest research. They were designed to complement the outcomes for student learning delineated in the K–12 CS Framework (2016) and CSTA K–12 CS Standards (2017).
Select where you are on the continuous learning path
To use the Self-Reflection Worksheets, teachers should determine where they are on the Continuous Learning Path and use the resources provided to reflect on their practice and plan their professional growth.
New Teacher and New to Teaching CS
New teachers who are also new to computer science may need to initially focus heavily on professional learning related to Standard 1, CS Knowledge and Skills. Beyond that, they should use the Self-Reflection Worksheets and the indicators detailed within each standard to determine where to focus their professional learning.
Experienced Teacher but New to Teaching CS
Experienced teachers who are new to teaching computer science may need to initially focus on professional learning related to Standard 1, CS Knowledge and Skills. Beyond that, they should use the Self-Reflection Worksheets and the indicators detailed within each standard to determine where their professional learning should focus.
New Teacher with CS Experience
New teachers who come to education with computer science experience may want to focus on professional learning related to computer science pedagogy to start. Beyond that, they should use the Self-Reflection Worksheets and the indicators detailed within each standard to determine where they should focus their professional learning.
Experienced CS Teacher
Experienced computer science teachers should use the Self-Reflection Worksheets and the indicators detailed within each standard to determine where their professional learning should focus. Additionally, experienced CS teachers should focus on support for other CS teachers and other CS-related programs.
Find Aligned PD
Once teachers have performed a self-assessment using the appropriate Self-Reflection Worksheets, they can plan for specific, targeted professional development opportunities that will enhance or improve their professional skills based on their areas for growth.
Offer PD to Guide Teacher Reflection
If you are interested in offering professional development on the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers and how to use the Continuous Learning Paths For CS Teachers and Self-Reflection Worksheets to reflect on practice and set personal Professional Learning Goals, check out our PD in a Box.
License & Attribution
Authors: Vicky Sedgwick, Deborah Seehorn, Dan Blier, Joanne Barrett, Annette Walt, Laura Campbell, and Kimberly Smith
Suggested Citation: Sedgwick, V., Seehorn, D., Blier, D., Barrett, J., Walt, A., Campbell, L., and Smith, K. (2023). K-12 CS Reflective Teachers. CSTA Standards for CS Teachers. Retrieved from https://csteachers.org/reflective-teachers.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).