Environmental STEM Pedagogical Content Knowledge (E+STEM-PCK): Teacher's Professional Development as Environmental STEM Literate Individuals in the Light of Experts’ Opinions

Abstract

This study is based on a Delphi study on environmental literacy which is related to both teachers professional development and environmental science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ( E+ STEM ) literacy. In the light of the expert opinions, the goal is to determine what teachers should do to develop their experiences and qualifications as E+ STEM literate individuals. In this study, a "mixed method" research design, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are involved, is used to reveal the expert opinions. The exploratory sequential design, which is one type of mixed method research, is used. In the first step of the Delphi study, qualitative data are collected about teachers' professional development. After analyses of data in the first step of Delphi study, the quantitative form is developed for second step of the Delphi study. Finally, after analyses of the data in the second step, the final quantitative form (3 rd step) is prepared again. It is performed in three consecutive steps in Delphi study. The sample consists of the 45 experts who initially accepted to participate in the study. 20 of the 45 experts participated in the first step Delphi. The number of participants in the second and third Delphi study, respectively, is 44 and 26, respectively. It is concluded that there is a consensus about "having and updating content knowledge about environmental issues," "following the development of environmental technologies, and applying them in class." There is additional agreement about "having and developing pedagogical competencies for the development of teachers" experiences and qualifications as E+ STEM literate individuals. It is suggested that the concept of "environment" should be integrated into the framework of "STEM pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)" for teacher's professional development. By this means, a new educational and environmental concept, E+ STEM-PCK, would be incorporated in teacher education.

The Implementation of Cognitively Challenging Tasks: The Role of Science Teachers’ Professional Development and Teaching Experience

“…Scholars have analyzed the association between teachers' professional experience and innovative activities [35,49,50]. Other scholars have found that teachers' professional experience, teaching skills, and disposition influence educational practice [51]. In general, teachers gain professional experience in a process that begins with pre-service training and continues with in-service training [52].…”

Preparing School and District Leaders for Success in Developing and Facilitating Integrative STEM in Higher Education

“…The Delphi technique relies upon the judgments of distributed experts to identify and reach consensus on complex issues through the administration and analysis of consecutively more narrow questionnaires. Relative to STEM education, the technique has been used to identify strategies to promote environmental STEM literacy among teachers (Kaya & Elster, 2019) and to help "leadership educators scaffold learning experiences based on moving from developing simple to complex leadership competencies" (Seemiller & Whitney, 2020, p. 130). The initial Qualtrics questionnaire asked the panel to list the most critical skills and competencies of an integrative STEM leader and judge a pre-established list of items that were derived from a review of literature and interviews with STEM leaders.…”

Adapting Environmental Education for a Virtual Space

“…A broad subject, EE can include various subfields which relate to the environment as a whole, such as geology or geography. While hard to define, as much of EE seems intuitive, in general EE promotes an awareness of the environment as a whole, as well as the various factors that influence it (Kaya and Elster, 2019). As Kaya and Elster (2019) emphasize, it is up to teachers to reinforce the importance of environmental issues in their curriculum.…”

“…While hard to define, as much of EE seems intuitive, in general EE promotes an awareness of the environment as a whole, as well as the various factors that influence it (Kaya and Elster, 2019). As Kaya and Elster (2019) emphasize, it is up to teachers to reinforce the importance of environmental issues in their curriculum. A key way of educating students is through teaching them environmental literacy, which is characterized by students' ability to assess health of environmental systems and know the underlying ecological actions surrounding them (Kaya & Elster, 2019).…”

“…As Kaya and Elster (2019) emphasize, it is up to teachers to reinforce the importance of environmental issues in their curriculum. A key way of educating students is through teaching them environmental literacy, which is characterized by students' ability to assess health of environmental systems and know the underlying ecological actions surrounding them (Kaya & Elster, 2019). Even going beyond learning for the sake of learning, environmental literacy allows participants to better engage in their communities through critical thinking about the effects of humans on the surrounding ecosystems (Minner & Klein, 2016).…”