Every summer, thousands of teachers say yes to computer science before they feel ready for it.
They sign up for a coding workshop not because they're confident, but because they know their students deserve the opportunity, even if they're not sure yet how to deliver it.
This summer, imagi ran two Summer Professional Development programs built to support exactly this need.
- Creative Coding in Python, delivered in partnership with We Teach CS from The University of Austin to educators across Texas.
- The Pathfinders Summer Institute, delivered in partnership with Infosys Foundation USA, reaching educators across the US.
Together, the two programs brought hands-on, no-experience-required Python instruction to 65 educators.
We surveyed participants before and after each program to see what actually changed. The results are the clearest evidence that the right PD can close a real readiness gap for teachers. It not only builds enthusiasm, but it can also build the knowledge and confidence to walk into a classroom and teach.
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Feeling unprepared
Across both programs, teachers arrived highly motivated but under-prepared.
In the Pathfinders pre-survey, 100% of participants said they were excited to teach computer science, but only 40% agreed they had the knowledge and skills to actually do it. That's the gap this kind of PD tries to reach.
What changed in a week
The growth was substantial in both cohorts:
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Teachers' computer science knowledge jumped 76% after the We Teach CS workshop.
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The share of Pathfinders educators who agreed they had "the knowledge and skills to teach CS effectively" more than doubled, from 40% to 85%.
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Feeling "prepared" to teach or integrate computer science rose 56% among We Teach CS participants, from 80% to 97% among Pathfinders participants.
- Teacher concerns about teaching CS dropped by nearly half.
Educator voices
And it wasn't just numbers on a page. Here's how educators described it in their own words:
"I anticipate this will empower my students to learn proper computer science skills."
—— Pathfinders participant
Taking it to the classroom
High-quality PD is great for an educator’s confidence, but what happens after the training ends?
The results from imagi’s PD are encouraging:
- 100% of educators across both programs rated instructors as effective
- Satisfaction ranged from 91–100%,
- And up to 82% of participants plan to implement at least half of what they learned in their classrooms this year. We Teach CS participants alone plan to reach more than 1,170 students.
Why this matters
For teachers, this is proof that you don't need a computer science degree to teach computer science well. You need the right preparation. Investing in high-quality PD pays off in measurable, classroom-ready outcomes: teachers who are more knowledgeable, more confident, and already planning to bring what they learned back to their students this year.
Thank you to our partners
None of this could have happened without our partners, and the dedicated hosts/fcilitators. Thank you to We Teach CS and The University of Texas at Austin for championing computer science education across Texas classrooms, and to Infosys Foundation USA’s Pathfinders program for their continued investment in bringing computer science to educators nationwide. Your partnership is what turns a week of PD into a full school year of student opportunity.
Interested in bringing imagi Summer PD to your school or district? Read more about our programs here.
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