Teachers’ views on and preferences for meeting their professional development needs in STEM

Abstract

While much is known about the characteristics that researchers deem valuable for professional development (PD), teachers' perceptions of their PD needs are less understood. In this study, we sought to explore teachers' perceptions of their PD needs, including PD format, time frame, and topics covered, and how those perceptions varied by teachers' district size, grade level, subject area, and years of experience.Participants included a statewide representative sample of 800 elementary and secondary STEM teachers with a wide range of teaching experience and from small to large school districts across Missouri. Each participant responded to the MO-STEM PD Needs Assessment, a 61-item Likert scale survey. We found teachers to be most interested in learning about real-world issues and problem-based learning to teach STEM content. Teachers' participation in PD positively correlated with district size and the manner in which PD is valued in their community of practice, while years of teaching experience was negatively correlated with interest in virtually all categories of the survey, including formats of PD delivery and the majority of PD topics. We conclude with a discussion of the ways in which teachers' expressed preferences for PD ran contrary to what the literature suggests as best practices for PD. K E Y W O R D S

Learning Goals of Professional Development Programs at Science Research Institutions: A Delphi Study with Different Stakeholder Groups

“…The inductive thematic network analysis of the first-round questionnaire resulted in seven themes that showcase the various goals of PDPs. All of the emerging themes from the first round of our study had already been identified in previous studies (Borko, 2004;Hardy et al, 2010;Louws et al, 2018;Owens et al, 2018;Park Rogers et al, 2010), though not necessarily by all stakeholders. The themes were clustered into the three categories of professional knowledge: PK, CK, and PCK (Abell, 2007;Chan & Hume, 2019;Park & Oliver, 2008).…”

“…First, we present the results of several studies on the learning goals of teachers participating in professional development (e.g., Anderson & Mitchener, 1994;Borko, 2004;Louws et al, 2018;Park Rogers et al, 2010;Van Duzor, 2012). Here, teachers identified three learning goals for their professional development: (1) to enhance their CK (Anderson & Mitchener, 1994;Louws et al, 2018;Owens et al, 2018;Park Rogers et al, 2010;Van Duzor, 2012), (2) to enhance their PK (Louws et al, 2018;Park Rogers et al, 2010), and (3) to enhance their PCK. In the latter, teachers specified various components of PCK.…”

“…In particular, teachers aimed to learn about and gain experience in innovative instructional strategies and representations (Louws et al, 2018;Owens et al, 2018;Park Rogers et al, 2007 and increase their knowledge of the curricula (Owens et al, 2018;Van Duzor, 2012). Several studies also reported other goals that are important to teachers, such as improving their ability to use multimedia in their classrooms (Louws et al, 2018;Owens et al, 2018). Additionally, Owens et al (2018) showed that teachers found it important to learn how to connect different fields of science, technology, and mathematics in their teaching and how to address gender inequalities.…”

“…Several studies also reported other goals that are important to teachers, such as improving their ability to use multimedia in their classrooms (Louws et al, 2018;Owens et al, 2018). Additionally, Owens et al (2018) showed that teachers found it important to learn how to connect different fields of science, technology, and mathematics in their teaching and how to address gender inequalities.…”

Engineering process as a focus: STEM professional development with elementary STEM‐focused professional development schools

“…Perhaps with targeted PD and supportive instructional materials, teachers could integrate engineering in a way that motivates learners and increases skills in critical thinking and problem solving as a team (Lachapelle & Cunningham, ). Owens, Sadler, Murakami, and Tsai () conducted a study with 800 elementary and secondary STEM teachers from a wide range of school districts in Missouri, a state that incorporates engineering design standards within their K‐12 science standards. In this study, these teachers completed a needs assessment related to PD and the results provided evidence that teachers were most interested in learning about problem‐based learning and real‐world issues when teaching STEM content.…”