Enhancing Elementary Teacher Practice Through Technological/Engineering Design-Based Learning

Abstract

AbstractAs widespread as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiatives are today, education programs and school districts in the USA are failing to ensure that elementary teachers have the appropriate knowledge of and proclivity toward STEM subjects. The lack of science instruction and professional development in the United States generates a weakness for both pre-and in-service elementary teachers. Research suggests that one way to address this weakness is through the technological/engineering designed-based approach within the context of integrative STEM education. The purpose of this chapter is to suggest ways in which professional development that educates elementary teachers to implement Technological/Engineering Design-Based Learning (T/E DBL) can enhance their science teaching. The research design was a multiple case study which adhered to a concurrent mixed method approach (Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2006; Yin, 2003). Data collected from surveys were analyzed and corroborated with a sweep instrument, rubric analyses, and interview responses to validate the results. Findings from this study revealed that the professional development model used in this study was effective in getting elementary teachers to implement T/E DBL.KeywordsTechnological/engineering design-based learningInnovationScienceIntegrative STEM education