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This chapter puts the MTCS course in the wider context of computer science teacher preparation programs. It first describes a model for high school computer science education model or high school computer science education that one of its components is computer science teacher preparation programs. The model consists of five key elements – a well-defined curriculum, a requirement of a mandatory formal computer science teaching license, teacher preparation programs, national center for computer science teachers, and research in computer science education – as well as interconnections between these elements. Then, the focus is placed on the teacher preparation programs component of the model, describing a workshop targeted at computer scientists and computer science curriculum developers who wish to launch computer science teacher preparation programs at their universities but lack knowledge about the actual construction of such programs.

This chapter presents an optional organization theme for the Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course around the concept of recursion. Based on the active learning-based teaching model, a series of themes is suggested, each one highlights a different pedagogical perspective. The themes are: classification of recursive phenomena (a nonprogramming task), the “leap of faith” approach, models of the recursive process, research on learning/teaching recursion, how does recursion sound? (the case of trees and fractals), evaluation (a nonprogramming project and a test construction), and a list of additional activities that illustrates that recursion can, indeed, be the focus of almost any topic discussed in the MTCS course. Each theme is accompanied with activities devoted to recursion to be facilitated in the MTCS course.

This chapter focuses on learners’ alternative conceptions. Since prospective teachers in general, and prospective computer science teachers in particular, face difficulties in gaining the notion of alternative conceptions, it is important to address this issue in the MTCS course and to deliver the message that a learning opportunity exists in each pupils’ mistake (or misunderstanding). Several pedagogical tools for exposing learners’ alternative conceptions are presented as well as three activities to be facilitated in the MTCS course.

This chapter proposes how to address in the MTCS course topics associated with the nature of the discipline of computer science and with cross-curriculum topics. The importance of these topics is explained by the fact that even today no consensus has been reached with respect to one agreed-upon definition for computer science, and different scholars view it differently. Specifically, the following topics are discussed in this chapter: what is computer science, the history of computer science, computer scientists, social issues of computer science, programming paradigms, and computer science soft ideas. For each topic, its meaning and its importance and relevance in the context of computer science education are explained, and then, several activities which deal with the said topic are presented.

This chapter describes how to design a Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course within an academic computer science teacher preparation program, and suggests two possible syllabi for such a course. It is emphasized, however, that different approaches and frameworks can be applied when one designs the course. In the first section of this chapter, we propose four possible perspectives on the MTCS course: the NCATE standards, merging computer science with pedagogy, Shulman’s model of teachers’ knowledge, and research findings. The second section of the chapter describes two MTCS course syllabi. We mention that though the focus in this section is placed on the MTCS course, the course models, as well as parts of them, can be used also for other purposes related to computer science teaching, such as curriculum design and professional development of computer science teachers.

This chapter deals with the first teaching experiences that the students enrolled in the MTCS course gain before becoming computer science teachers. It presents two frameworks in which the prospective computer science teachers gain this first teaching experience: The practicum, which takes place in high school, after one or two semesters of learning the MTCS course, and a tutoring framework that can be integrated in the MTCS course. We also present activities that can be facilitated in the MTCS course, in which the students deal with and analyze teaching scenarios taken from the practicum of other prospective computer science teachers.

As in the teaching of any discipline, computer science teachers are expected to vary their teaching methods, and therefore this pedagogical issue should be included in the MTCS course. This chapter focuses on how to achieve this pedagogical target by using different types of questions. It explores and discusses different types of questions that computer science educators (middle and high school teachers as well as university instructors) can use in different teaching situations and processes: in the classroom, in the computer lab, as homework, or in tests. The chapter lays out also the advantages of using a variety of question types both for learners and teachers, and focuses on the design process of different question types. Though the types of questions presented are mainly related to programming assignments, most of them are suitable also for other computer science contents.

This chapter presents active-learning-based teaching methods that computer science educators can employ in the classroom. The purpose of this chapter is first, to let the students in the MTCS course experience a variety of teaching methods before becoming computer science teachers; second, to discuss, together with the students, the advantages and disadvantages of these teaching methods; and third, to demonstrate high school teaching situations in which it is appropriate to employ these teaching methods. Within this chapter we discuss (a) pedagogical tools: games, the CS-Unplugged approach, rich tasks, concept maps, classification, and metaphors; (b) different forms of class organization; and (c) mentoring software project development.

The Introduction presents the motivation for writing this Guide, the Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course for which the Guide can serve as a textbook, the structure of the Guide, and how it can be used in different frameworks of computer science education.

Problem solving is one of the central activities performed by computer scientists as well as computer science learners. However, computer science learners often face difficulties in problem analysis and solution construction. Therefore, it is important that computer science educators be aware of these difficulties and acquire appropriate pedagogical tools to help their learners gain experience in these skills. This chapter is dedicated to these pedagogical tools. It presents several problem-solving strategies to address in the MTCS course together with appropriate activities to mediate them to the prospective computer science teachers.