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Abstract
In this qualitative case study, I examined in-service elementary school teachers’ learning of coding and robotics in a blended course developed and delivered through the collaboration of university faculty with a school district. In particular, I used activity theory to understand and reveal the mediations, contradictions, and effective practices that facilitated or conflicted with teachers’ learning of coding and robotics in the context of their administrators’ corresponding perspectives, decisions, and actions for coding/robotics inclusion in their elementary schools. The participants of the study were three district administrators, five school administrators, and nineteen teachers from two different cohorts of teachers, and two non-course teachers. Data collection and generation sources included interviews, documents, videos of class meetings, classroom observation, course assignments, and class artifacts. In analyzing the data, I employed analytical approaches under the guidance of activity theory and grounded theory. The findings showed that both administrators and teachers recognized that integrating coding and robotics into lessons can instill essential life skills in their students and also can be an important means for their students to develop understandings regarding subject areas and standards. The school district mediated teachers’ learning of coding and robotics by securing grants and providing professional learning opportunities over the years. However, because the implementation of coding and robotics instruction varied across schools in the district (with the teachers having different job expectations), the teachers experienced certain elements of the professional learning courses as mediating or conflicting with their learning. Based on their distinct roles and positions in their schools and their previous levels of coding-and-robotics-related learning and teaching experiences, these mediating or conflicting elements were: collaborative actions, firsthand experiences of coding and teaching coding, platforms employed during the courses, instructional approaches and delivery, and teachers’ confidence in using technology. The way that each of these elements was employed also influenced teachers’ learning and development of coding and robotics skills. Elaborating on these influences and drawing on activity theory, I report the implications for further research and practice through situating teachers as embedded in their larger social and organizational settings and realities.