Kindergarten Teachers’ Attitudes toward and Confidence for Integrated STEM Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Tao
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Kindergarten Teachers ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

scholarly journals THE PLANNING OF INTEGRATED STEM EDUCATION BASED ON STANDARDS AND CONTEXTUAL ISSUES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG)

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Loh Su Ling ◽  
Vincent Pang ◽  
Denis Lajium
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
After School ◽  
Curriculum Standards ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Real World Problems

Two important features in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education are integration and solving real world problems.  Despite the efforts to promote STEM education awareness and interest among students and teachers, documented studies on how to explicitly integrate the existing STEM subjects curriculum standards in solving real world problems are limited. This paper describes the planning of after-school STEM education program focusing on relevant global issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that integrates the existing curriculum standards of three STEM subject in the lower secondary level. The data collection is mainly through document analysis of the three individual STEM subjects’ standard documents and the planned curriculum map for the school, along with the document on ‘Education for Sustainable Development Goals Learning Objectives’.  Four possible design challenges were formulated based on the themes in SDG incorporating selected standards from the three STEM subjects as well as addition of a few new related concepts and skills.  The description offers a way to assist educators in planning similar STEM education lesson or programmes or activities through integration of the existing individual STEM disciplines curriculum standards for different level and context relevant to the students.   Keywords: Contextual problem solving, integration, standard-based, STEM education, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Cite as: Loh, S. L., Pang, V., & Lajium, D. (2019). The planning of integrated STEM education based on standards and contextual issues of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(1), 300-315. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol4iss1pp300-315

The influence of a design-based elective STEM course on pre-service chemistry teachers’ content knowledge, STEM conceptions, and engineering views

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 954-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sevgi Aydin-Gunbatar ◽  
Aysegul Tarkin-Celikkiran ◽  
Elif Selcan Kutucu ◽  
Betul Ekiz-Kiran
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Chemistry Teachers ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Pre Service Teacher ◽  
Similar Development

In this study, we sought to examine the influence of a 12 week design-based elective Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) course on pre-service chemistry teachers’ content knowledge, STEM conceptions, and engineering and engineering design views. To attain the goals determined, we utilized five STEM activities starting with a daily-life problem and an iterative engineering design process to solve the problem. A chemistry test with 11 two-tier items, and interviews focusing on STEM and engineering conceptions were administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. Moreover, a reflection paper was collected after each activity. Eight junior pre-service chemistry teachers participated in the study voluntarily. Deductive and inductive data analyses were used to investigate the influence of the course on participants’ content knowledge, STEM conceptions, and engineering and engineering design views. The results revealed that the design-based STEM course helped pre-service teachers deepen their content knowledge. Additionally, most of the participants defined integrated STEM education as an acronym (n= 6) and very few mentioned the interdisciplinary dimension of STEM education superficially at the beginning (n= 3). At the end, they mentioned interdisciplinary nature as connecting at least two dimensions of STEM, and they emphasized engaging in real-world problems, designing a product or process and inquiry-based and/or problem-based learning. Regarding engineering and engineering design views, a similar development was observed. Although their views were undeveloped or underdeveloped at the beginning, they enriched their views and mentioned defining criteria, creativity and integration to science and mathematics that are characteristics of engineering and design processes. Implications for including STEM courses in pre-service teacher education programs were provided.

Kindergarten teachers' evaluation: perceptions of the new Israeli multiple domains performance tool

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Cohen-Azaria
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Kindergarten Teachers ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Multiple Domains ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose In 2012, the Israeli Ministry of Education and its Testing and Evaluation Department introduced a new tool to evaluate the quality of kindergarten teachers’ work. This paper aims to identify how kindergarten teachers perceive the new multiple domains performance tool. Design/methodology/approach The study applied a qualitative paradigm of data collection and analysis. Data collection consisted of semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 36 kindergarten teachers. Findings Findings indicated that most kindergarten teachers perceive their work plan and the kindergarten climate as the most important evaluation domains, while perceiving involving parents as the least important and even an unnecessary domain. One-third of them indicated that an innovation domain should be added. Also, the kindergarten teachers perceived the use of the KT-MDPT as both positive and negative. Originality/value There is a clear dearth in scholarly literature dealing with the evaluation of the quality of kindergarten teachers’ work. This study is the first to reveal Israeli kindergarten teachers' attitudes regarding this new tool for work quality evaluation.

Integrated STEM teaching competencies and performances as perceived by secondary teachers in South Korea

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miran Song
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Secondary Teachers ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Teaching Competencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Key Competencies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Stem Teaching

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what key competencies and characteristics of teachers are needed for integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teaching and to investigate teachers’ perceptions on how important those competencies are and how often they are executed. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used to investigate key characteristics of integrated STEM teaching competencies and the level of their importance and performance as perceived by teachers. By using behavioral event interview technique, qualitative data were collected from professional secondary teachers in science, math and technology subjects. An instrument was constructed based on the result of qualitative research; and a survey was conducted with 48 STEM teachers working in South Korea. The mean values between importance and performance of integrated STEM teaching competencies were compared. A perceived importance level of each item was compared with a practice level by using importance-performance analysis. Findings As a result of qualitative research, in total 21 items were constructed as detailed characteristics of each domain of integrated STEM teaching competencies, which provide insights about teachers’ perceptions of teaching competencies that are critical for integrated STEM education. A comparison of means between importance and performance of integrated STEM teaching competencies showed that whereas teachers considered each of these items to be of significant importance in their overall evaluation of the integrated STEM teaching competencies, they are not performing at a level that reflects the assigned importance. Practical implications This research results provide information for future research on how to implement an integrated STEM education initiative at the secondary school level, for planning teacher training programs, pre-service teacher education and related educational policies. Originality/value South Korea has focused on integrated STEM education to raise talented human resources in the fields of science and technology. However, many teachers have experienced serious difficulties and troubles in executing integrated STEM education. It is necessary to figure out key competencies and characteristics of teachers to facilitate integrated STEM teaching.

STEM Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Ritchie
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Future Challenges

STEM education in schools has become the subject of energetic promotion by universities and policymakers. The mythical narrative of STEM in crisis has driven policy to promote STEM education throughout the world in order to meet the challenges of future workforce demands alongside an obsession with high-stakes testing for national and international comparisons as a proxy for education quality. Unidisciplinary emphases in the curriculum have failed to deliver on the goal to attract more students to pursue STEM courses and careers or to develop sophisticated STEM literacies. A radical shift in the curriculum toward integrated STEM education through multidisciplinary/ interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary projects is required to meet future challenges. Project-based activities that engage students in solving real-world problems requiring multiple perspectives and skills that are authentically assessed by autonomous professional teachers are needed. Governments and non-government sponsors should support curriculum development with teachers, and their continuing professional development in this process. Integrating STEM with creative expression from the arts shows promise at engaging students and developing their STEM literacies. Research into the efficacy of such projects is necessary to inform authorities and teachers of possibilities for future developments. Foci for further research also are identified.

Facing bilingual education: kindergarten teachers’ attitudes, strategies and challenges

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mila Schwartz ◽  
Aura Mor-Sommerfeld ◽  
Mark Leikin
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Kindergarten Teachers ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

The impact of integrated STEM education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devrim Akgündüz
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Constructivist Teaching ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Education Academic

This research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education on academic achievement, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and permanence in learning in science education. This study, which used pre-test–post-test and semi-experimental model with permanence test, control group as a research model, was conducted with 44 students attending to the 6th grade of a public school in 2015–2016 academic year. The study consisted of the control group with constructivist teaching and the experimental group with integrated STEM education. Academic achievement test and reflective thinking scale towards problem solving were applied. In SPSS 24 package program, analysis of quantitative data was performed using t-test and Mann–Whitney U test. In conclusion, the integrated STEM education does not significantly increase success, reflective thinking skills towards problem solving and their effects on permanence according to constructivist teaching, but provides positive contributions to academic achievement.   Keywords: Integrated STEM education, science education, academic achievement, problem solving, reflective thinking skills.  

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