Strengthening STEM Instruction in Schools: Learning From Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-242
Author(s):  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathryn Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Stem Instruction ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
And Mathematics

More than half of U.S. children fail to meet proficiency standards in mathematics and science in fourth grade. Teacher professional development and curriculum improvement are two of the primary levers that school leaders and policymakers use to improve children’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning, yet until recently, the evidence base for understanding their effectiveness was relatively thin. In recent years, a wealth of rigorous new studies using experimental designs have investigated whether and how STEM instructional improvement programs work. This article highlights contemporary research on how to improve classroom instruction and subsequent student learning in STEM. Instructional improvement programs that feature curriculum integration, teacher collaboration, content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and how students learn all link to stronger student achievement outcomes. We discuss implications for policy and practice.

scholarly journals Strengthening the Research Base That Informs STEM Instructional Improvement Efforts: A Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathryn E. Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Classroom Implementation ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Impact Estimate ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Average Weighted Impact

We present results from a meta-analysis of 95 experimental and quasi-experimental pre-K–12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development and curriculum programs, seeking to understand what content, activities, and formats relate to stronger student outcomes. Across rigorously conducted studies, we found an average weighted impact estimate of +0.21 standard deviations. Programs saw stronger outcomes when they helped teachers learn to use curriculum materials; focused on improving teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and/or understanding of how students learn; incorporated summer workshops; and included teacher meetings to troubleshoot and discuss classroom implementation. We discuss implications for policy and practice.

scholarly journals Indonesian Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Preservice Teachers’ Experiences in STEM-TPACK Design-Based Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9050
Author(s):  
Ching Sing Chai ◽  
Yuli Rahmawati ◽  
Morris Siu-Yung Jong
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Complex Matter ◽  
School Curricula

This paper presents Indonesian preservice teachers’ experiences in designing a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (STEM-TPACK) learning website. The framework of TPACK was expanded to include all STEM subjects for the synthesis of the theoretical/design framework. The STEM-TPACK framework is further epitomized as a replicable website to support preservice teachers in designing STEM lesson activities. The framework is also employed to examine preservice teachers’ efficacies and experiences in learning how to design the learning website. Thirty-seven second- and third-year Indonesian preservice teachers from science, mathematics, computer science, and engineering backgrounds formed interdisciplinary groups to design the STEM-TPACK website based on the current secondary school curricula. Data were collected from TPACK-STEM questionnaires, interviews, reflective journals, and observation. The preservice teachers’ efficacy for their STEM-TPACK developed significantly, with large effect sizes, after they co-designed the websites. The results also indicate that the preservice teachers faced challenges in communicating their discipline-based content knowledge when developing the STEM projects. Contextualizing and connecting their content knowledge with real-world design challenges was also difficult for them. Consequently, the preservice teachers realized that teaching is a complex matter, especially when they need to integrate the different disciplines for STEM education. However, this was viewed in a positive light for professional development. This study implies that preservice teachers may benefit from learning by design, employing the TPACK framework in the social setting of interdisciplinary STEM communities.

scholarly journals An exploration of acceptance of innovative computer use in teaching mathematics among pre-service class teachers and mathematics teachers

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-366
Author(s):  
Verica Milutinovic
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Computer Use ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Mathematics Students ◽  
Service Class ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
And Mathematics

Innovative computer use enables the strengthening and transformation of teaching practice. Notwithstanding, numerous studies have indicated that teachers do not use computers in teaching mathematics to a sufficient extent. This study was aimed at exploring the reasons for insufficient computer use by teachers, i.e. at examining the variables which may affect the acceptance of innovative computer use in teaching mathematics. Hence, the intention to use computers in teaching mathematics in primary school was explored on the sample of 455 pre-service class teachers and mathematics teachers from Serbia. The technology acceptance model was extended by external variables and the following were observed as the predictors of intention to use computers in teaching mathematics: students? attitudes towards computers, their perception of usefulness of computers in teaching mathematics, perceived ease of use, technological pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics, experience with use, subjective norms, technological complexity and content knowledge in mathematics. Structural equation modelling has shown that the proposed model had a good fit and that the selected variables were significant predictors of the intention to use computers. The proposed model explained 23.7% of variance in the intention to use computers. It has been shown that the intention to use computers is directly predicted by dominant technological pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics, students? attitudes towards computers and their experience, while it is indirectly predicted by perceived usefulness, subjective norm, technological complexity and content knowledge in mathematics. In accordance with the presented findings, the final part provides recommendations that may be beneficial for advancing the education of pre-service class teachers and mathematics teachers.

scholarly journals APPROACHING THE BORDERLANDS OF STATISTICS AND MATHEMATICS IN THE CLASSROOM: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ENGENDERING AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-87
Author(s):  
JANE M. WATSON ◽  
ERICA L. NATHAN
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Middle School Teachers ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Interview Protocol ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Big Ideas ◽  
And Mathematics

To capture aspects of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) not illuminated in an earlier written survey, an interview protocol was used with 40 middle school teachers. The scenarios were intended to elicit teachers’ understanding of the big ideas, ability to anticipate students’ answers, and intervention strategies for the classroom. This was expected to be a straight-forward journey based on teachers’ responses to three context-based scenarios regarding students’ answers to questions. Instead we were surprised by teachers’ responses that revealed their perceptions that their experiences teaching mathematics and teaching statistics are very different. This led to further analysis of the PCK tasks and a suggestion that the mathematics embedded in the tasks was sometimes an impediment for the teachers, especially in relation to intervention strategies in the classroom. First published November 2010 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

Online Mathematics Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 713-733
Author(s):  
Jennifer Chauvot ◽  
Stephen J. Pape ◽  
Sherri K. Prosser ◽  
Kimberly Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science And Mathematics Teachers

In this chapter, the authors describe two online programs that sought to impact teachers' content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional practices in K-12 classrooms. One program was a master's program for middle grades science and mathematics teachers, and the other was a yearlong professional development program for third- through fifth-grade general and special education teachers. They share the theoretical perspectives that informed the design and implementation of the programs and outcomes from each program. Examples of learning activities from each of the programs are provided. The authors contend that deliberate, theoretically-based design and implementation of online professional development programs with science and mathematics teachers is not only viable but also vital in supporting teachers' ongoing knowledge growth of learner-centered instruction.

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