STEM Teacher Preparation Research Articles

STEM Teacher Preparation for High-Need Schools: Inventory of Selected NSF Robert Noyce Programs

STEM Teacher Preparation for High-Need Schools: Inventory of Selected NSF Robert Noyce Programs

Preservice Elementary Teachers Conceptions and Self-Efficacy for Integrated STEM

Educational reform efforts have emphasized preparing highly competent and confident preservice teachers to deliver effective K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instruction. Self-efficacy is a key variable that influences motivation and performance, and therefore it is necessary to support the development of preservice teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy. This mixed-methods study investigates how preservice elementary teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy is shaped during their participation in a newly redesigned STEM semester consisting of three concurrent methods courses (science and engineering, mathematics, and technology methods courses). The quantitative data sources included the Self-efficacy for Teaching Integrated STEM instrument administered as a pre- and post-test, demographic, and open-ended questionnaire. The qualitative data sources included STEM identity letters, integrated STEM models, and STEM growth reflections. Quantitative results showed statistically significant positive gains in integrated STEM-teaching self-efficacy from the beginning to the end of the semester. The results from the content analysis also revealed positive shifts in PSTs’ conceptions and attitudes about STEM. Notably, having a similar discourse across the three parallel-running methods courses provided a suitable context for preservice teachers to develop a shared understanding of integrated STEM. Implications for preservice STEM teacher preparation and research are discussed.

Ideology in the mirror: A loving (self) critique of our equity and social justice efforts in STEM education

AbstractThis manuscript is born from contemplating and exploring how it is that we see so little systemic change in STEM education after so many years of working toward it, including the insidious persistence of systems of oppression, and historical and generational exploitation that our current critical, social justice efforts in STEM teacher preparation programs are ineffective and ill‐equipped at changing or dismantling. Starting from an explanatory frame of Freire's conundrum of the oppressed, we theorize toward a more complex notion of ideological change. Through the novel reflexive discourse of a loving (self) critique, we interrogate our own individual failures to construct a better theoretical understanding of them. Using self‐reflections and other examples, we theorize an imperative of continued ideological growth and development to more authentically step forward in our STEM education equity and social justice work.

Salient Experiences in Student Development: Impact of an Undergraduate STEM Teacher Preparation Program

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer experiences, and learning directly from experts had the greatest influence on student development overall. For Scholars that participate for more than 1 year in the program, access to undergraduate mentoring and volunteering experiences contributed most to student development. We posit that these findings are broadly applicable to other science learning communities and STEM content-focused teacher preparation programs as they are program components that can be integrated in isolation or in their entirety.

Collaborating to “Grow Our Own”: The Helios STEM Middle School Residency Program

In this article, the authors explain the need for clinically rich middle school STEM teacher preparation. They describe how one university and school district with an established partnership collaborated to meet this need. The result was the formation of a residency program that aims to prepare high quality middle school STEM teachers who can fill the district’s vacancies. The residency program is centered around clinical experiences where the triad—consisting of a preservice teacher, collaborating teacher, and university supervisor—is the nexus of learning. The authors share the takeaways from their experiences, highlighting the perspectives of the members of one triad. They conclude with an examination of the residency program’s effectiveness in meeting its intended aim.

Science Teacher Preparation: Themes of Exemplary STEM Inquiry Instruction

In response to increased attention to STEM teacher preparation, this paper intends to investigate the inquiry methods for improving STEM teaching and learning through unpacking the instructional implementation of a “Science as Inquiry” course in the teacher education program of a public university in a Southwestern state of the U.S. The purpose is examining the features underlying inquiry approach to science instruction, and therefore facilitating the dissemination and adoption of effective STEM instructional practices. Five themes are illuminated, presenting an exemplar of inquiry-based science instruction: a) nourishing an inquiring mind; (b) seeking the depth of understanding; (c) enacting guided inquiry; (d) cultivating cooperative learning; and (e) emphasizing experience-based learning. It is hopeful that this study can highlight the continued need for innovations in STEM teaching pedagogies and contribute to nation’s commitment to supporting and improving STEM education.

Like-Minded People: University-Based Interdisciplinary Collaborations in STEM Teacher Preparation Programs

A need exists for impactful interdisciplinary collaborations between STEM and Education departments to build successful STEM teacher education programs. Within extant literature, few studies have examined the qualities that make STEM and Education collaborations possible for the purpose of STEM teacher preparation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the motivation, development and sustainability of collaborations between STEM and Education faculty and university supervisors to better enhance STEM teacher education programs. This study analyzes the dynamics between STEM and Education faculty and university supervisors at seven universities with Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Programs within the state of Texas. Through a qualitative multiple-case study research approach, we collected data through focus group interviews, archival information, and field notes. Our exploratory study yielded three main findings to include the following: (1) characteristics of impactful STEM-Education collaborations; (2) impact of STEM-Education collaborations; and (3) common STEM-Education collaboration constraints. Based on the findings from this study, implications for universities, institutional leaders, students, and the grant foundation are discussed.

Comparison of two alternative approaches to quality STEM teacher preparation: Fast‐track licensure and embedded residency programs

AbstractAlternative pathways to teaching licensure were developed to address teacher shortages. These programs differ widely, making it difficult to generalize the effects. This study compares the impact of two alternative licensure programs on the development of fundamental elements of science teacher preparation and persistence. The fast‐track programs include a 6‐month teacher preparation program and a one‐year residency teacher preparation program. The study concluded that licensure type was unassociated with the impact on teaching self‐efficacy, beliefs about teacher‐focused/student‐focused teaching, preferences for inquiry instructional practices, and experiences with student misbehavior. However, the study revealed that licensure type was associated with a number of other variables: residency students had more confidence in their ability to provide quality instruction; preferred inquiry‐based instruction more often; and may be better prepared for the high‐needs classroom. Those in the 6‐month program were more likely to score higher on practical versus theoretical approaches to teaching, and while they had a more realistic idea of how to measure success in the high‐needs classroom, the residency students had more knowledge of educational theory and how to apply it. Findings suggest that more traditionally licensed teachers may be more inclined to use inquiry‐based methods suggested in current reforms.

Preservice teachers’ experiences of STEM integration: challenges and implications for integrated STEM teacher preparation

In the United States, recent STEM education reform initiatives call for teaching STEM subjects through integration of multiple related subjects. In response to this call, an integrated STEM education methods course was developed for secondary preservice teachers in STEM disciplines. At the conclusion of the course, qualitative data (e.g., interviews, student artifacts) were collected to examine the methods course students’ practices and experiences of STEM integration. Teachers’ learning was approached from situated perspectives that shed light on contexts in which teaching practices are situated and funds of knowledge that individual teachers bring to bear to their teaching contexts. While the students successfully developed STEM integration lessons and taught them, they faced challenges attributable to current school practices, limited interdisciplinary understandings, and a lack of role models. Acknowledging the numerous constraints in the current educational system and structure, several ways were suggested to mitigate the challenges and build on the strengths that preservice teachers established.

Balancing the communication equation: An outreach and engagement model for using sociolinguistics to enhance culturally and linguistically sustaining K–12 STEM education

To mitigate systemic culturally and linguistically rooted barriers to STEM achievement, particularly for African-American students, implementing linguistically and culturally sustaining approaches to STEM education is critically relevant. This article presents an engagement model for using sociolinguistics to enhance K–12 STEM education, drawing upon research carried out with K–12 STEM educators who attended workshops on language variation and subsequently participated in semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Findings indicate the centrality of integrating linguistics into K–12 STEM teacher preparation, in order to advance educational equity for all culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Developing and sustaining an educative mentoring model of STEM teacher professional development through collaborative partnership

In this paper, we present details of a partnership undertaken by four universities with field-based, alternative STEM teacher preparation programs and a large urban school district to provide ongoing professional support for teachers serving as mentors for individuals preparing for careers in high-poverty schools. We also present key findings related to our implementation of an educative mentoring professional learning community (PLC) as a professional development (PD) model for these mentors. Our analysis reveals that mentors as well as candidates identified the PD program as addressing their specific interests and concerns, and that they were regularly and deeply engaged with key activities that were part of each session’s agenda. These findings signal how key elements of PD workshops can contribute to creating and sustaining a local but replicable PLC utilizing an educative mentoring model to support mentors and the future teachers whom they support.

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

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.

An Integrated Model for STEM Teacher Preparation: The Value of a Teaching Cooperative Educational Experience

An Integrated Model for STEM Teacher Preparation: The Value of a Teaching Cooperative Educational Experience

Secondary STEM Teacher Preparation as a Top Priority for the University of the Future:: The UTeach National Replication as a Strategic Initiative

Secondary STEM Teacher Preparation as a Top Priority for the University of the Future:: The UTeach National Replication as a Strategic Initiative