Finding the connection between research and design: the knowledge development of STEM teachers in a professional learning community

T E Vossen,M J De Vries,J H Van Driel,I Henze

doi:10.1007/s10798-019-09507-7

Abstract

Research and design activities are becoming more important in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and D&T (design and technology) education. Research and design are often taught separately from each other, while in professional STEM practices, many projects are neither ‘research only’ or ‘design only’—they are both. In this study, we aimed to provide insights in teachers’ personal and shared knowledge on how research and design can be connected. To this end, we examined the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and beliefs of six teachers of the Dutch STEM subject O&O (research and design), who participated in a professional learning community (PLC) aimed at connecting research and design within this subject. Results of pre and post-PLC interviews showed that teachers’ personal PCK was very diverse, probably due to their different beliefs, backgrounds and teaching contexts. Through jointly designing instructional strategies for connecting research and design, teachers contributed to a collective knowledge base. The results of this study indicate that a professional learning community in which teachers with varying backgrounds construct knowledge and instructional strategies together, can be a powerful method to enhance personal PCK and collective knowledge. These are promising outcomes in the light of shaping professional development activities for STEM and D&T teachers, which in turn aims to provide students with a holistic and realistic view on current professional STEM fields.

Highlights

Research and design activities are considered core processes in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and D&T education (NGSS 2013; NRC Framework 2012; ITEA 2007)
He seemed to focus on the learning goals related to his central belief that it is a prerequisite that students see the utility of research within design
This was a salient issue in his reasoning after the professional learning community (PLC) in domains M1 (‘students need to know that doing research is needed to conduct a design’), M2 (‘students see the relevance of a project through using research within their design’) and M3 (‘I stimulate students in the importance of doing orientation research’)

Summary

Introduction

Research and design activities are considered core processes in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and D&T (design and technology) education (NGSS 2013; NRC Framework 2012; ITEA 2007). The practice of connecting science and engineering, or research and design, is not self-evident in education (Kolodner et al 2003a; Van Breukelen et al 2016). Like design and technology, combining research and design activities is a less established practice in education, when compared for example to inquiry in science education, and does not have a well-established epistemology (De Vries 2006; Doyle et al 2018). It is unexplored what STEM teachers’ knowledge is about connecting research and design in the classroom. Has educational degrees in physics, Public Understanding of Science (see Henze et al 2007), O&O, mathematics, chemistry and ICT

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