In this poster we highlight the strategies of K-12 in-service teachers who are learning to program in Java for the first time in an online graduate certificate program. Six teachers reported having limited and fundamental prior CS experience before learning to program in Java through a three-step Use-Modify-Create process. We implemented a model of metacognitive activity questionnaire to retrospectively collect a wide range of strategies reported by teachers as procedural steps which occurred before, during and after programming. Last, we interpret how these teachers' strategies were deployed as a higher-ordered process in the context of programming through a lens of abstraction and metacognitive regulation skills of planning, monitoring and evaluating the program solution.

The expansion of K-12 computer science education has led to an increasing effort in preparing in-service teachers to learn and teach CS through participation in micro credentials, professional development, and online certificate programs. In this study, we recruited five novice K-12 in-service teachers enrolled in an online CS certificate program and highlighted their strategies used in programming a Java assignment through a three-phase process of planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Women and people from historically marginalized groups are recognized as underrepresented in computer science (CS) courses. We approach this issue by building a K-12 teacher workforce as role models to K-12 students. In this project, we develop a K-12 CS Educator Certificate Program and provide scholarships to 20 Black, Latina, and Native American women in-service teachers. To support these scholars, we provided a community of practice that includes mentoring from experienced CS educators and flexible tutoring from CS content experts. Through these efforts to increase diversity and representation in those who teach CS, we are making strides toward all students seeing themselves in the field of CS.

To address the issue of meaningfully including students in elementary computer science (CS) education, we design, implement, and evaluate an innovative professional development (PD) and community of practice (CoP) model for supporting elementary general and special education teacher dyads to apply inclusive pedagogy in their CS instructional practice. This project aims to improve interest, ability beliefs, and academic outcomes for elementary students with disabilities in CS learning. This online PD/CoP supports teachers in learning, implementing, and reflecting on how to best integrate Universal Design for Learning and High-Leverage Practices within CS instruction. Membership in this PD/CoP is predicted to increase the participation of students with disabilities in elementary CS instruction by increasing the teachers' CS content and pedagogical knowledge, self-efficacy, and inclusive mindsets and practice.