Characterizing STEM Teacher Education: Affordances and Constraints of Explicit STEM Preparation for Elementary Teachers

Abstract

Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education sits at the center of a national conversation, comparatively little attention has been given to growing need for STEM teacher preparation, particularly at the elementary level. This study analyzes the outcomes of a novel, preservice STEM teacher education model. Building on both general and STEM‐specific teacher preparation principles, this program combined two traditional mathematics and science methods courses into one STEM block. Analysis compared preservice teachers in the traditional courses with those enrolled in the STEM block, investigating STEM teaching efficacy, reported and exhibited pedagogical practices, and STEM literacies using a pre‐post survey as well as analysis of lesson planning products. Linear regression models indicated that substantial growth was seen in both approaches but STEM block preservice teachers reported significantly greater gains in STEM teaching efficacy as compared with traditional‐route teachers. Lesson planning artifacts also demonstrated increased facilitation of STEM literacies, with specific attention to content integration, engineering and design, and arts inclusion. Technology and computational thinking emerged as areas for further growth and clarification in STEM teacher education models. Findings contribute to a growing research base on developing the STEM teacher workforce.

“I just do what the boys tell me”: Exploring small group student interactions in an integrated STEM unit

“…The application of knowledge often occurs through small group activities, as groups of students work together to solve real‐world problems. A number of researchers (e.g., Brown, Brown, Reardon, & Merrill, ; Kennedy & Odell, ; Moore et al, ; Moore et al, ; Rinke, Gladstone‐Brown, Kinlaw, & Cappiello, ) agree that small group learning and teamwork are central to integrated STEM instruction. In this study, integrated STEM instruction is defined based on the framework for integrated STEM instruction (Moore, Stohlmann, et al, ), which includes six key tenets: (a) a motivating and engaging context; (b) an engineering design challenge; (c) opportunity to learn from failure through redesign; (d) inclusion of mathematics and/or science content; (e) student‐centered pedagogies; and (f) an emphasis on teamwork and communication.…”

Investigation of scientific creativity levels of elementary school students who enrolled in a STEM program

“…The integrative approach to STEM education involves integration of at least two STEM disciplines by taking the interests and experiences of both students and the teacher into account while maintaining the central focus of the discipline taught (Çorlu, Capraro, & Çorlu, 2015). STEM education aims to motivate learners to work on real-world problems by generating ideas and designing relevant products based on integrated STEM knowledge and STEM skills (Rinke, Gladstone-Brown, Kinlaw, & Cappiello, 2016).…”

Formación STEM en el grado de maestro: una experiencia docente

“…Esto contrasta significativamente con la importancia, ratificada en trabajos como el de Reeve (2015), de que los maestros reciban una correcta formación en este ámbito. Tal y como destacan Rinke et al (2016), existe poca investigación sobre cómo preparar de manera efectiva a los futuros docentes para convertirse en maestros STEM. Estos autores, al igual que Niess (2005) describen en su trabajo una propuesta de intervención con futuros maestros similar a la que proponemos en este artículo, pero en un contexto diferente teniendo en cuenta las particularidades de los sistemas educativos de cada país.…”