A Fringe Topic in a Fragile Network: How Digital Literacy and Computer Science Instruction Is Supported (or Not) by Teacher Ties

In this NSF CSforALL funded research study, the authors sought to understand the extent to which an urban district's teacher instructional support network enabled or constrained capacity to implement and diffuse Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS) instructional practices throughout the K-12 curriculum. Social network analysis was used to investigate informal teacher advice-seeking and advice-giving patterns of DLCS support. Network measures of cohesion and centrality were computed. Findings revealed that DLCSfocused teacher support networks tend to exhibit very low density, have relatively few ties, include a high number of isolates (teachers with no connections), and centralize around a particular actor. In addition, a low level of overlap was found between DLCS networks and primary instructional networks. Overall, study findings suggest that teacher networks are not well-structured to support the flow of DLCS advice and support. The authors conclude that examining and strengthening teacher networks of instructional support may be a crucial step for educational leaders concerned with school improvement and the diffusion of DLCS curricula in US schools.