scholarly journals Integrating Literacy into STEM Education: Changing Teachers’ Dispositions and Classroom Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoudong Feng ◽  
Umadevi Garimella ◽  
Carolyn Pinchback
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Mathematics And Science

In this paper, the results of a study of teachers’ dispositions and classroom practices regarding literacy integration into STEM courses are presented. The Connection Core Concepts (CCI) program, developed through Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) grant funds, was designed to support the integration of content across subject areas. Literacy is one of the emphases in Integrated STEM to enhance teacher content knowledge and increase student success. Research data were gathered from 30 teacher participants from Grades 5–8 through surveys, observations and interviews. The results indicated that there were positive changes in teacher perceptions as well as classroom practices in regard to integrating literacy into STEM.

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.

scholarly journals Preservice History Teachers’ Perceptions of Subject Matter Competency

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Tercan Yıldırım ◽  
Fatih Yazıcı
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Data Collection Tool ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Academic Year

Teachers should be able to understand conceptual constructs, viewpoints, and principles related to their field and organize teaching process accordingly. This is valid also for history teachers. They are expected to comprehend the basic conceptions related to subject areas and reflect them on classroom practices. The association between subject matter and pedagogy is significant for the quality of teaching. The drawbacks in content knowledge cause deficiencies in learning and a tendency to handle subjects in a similar manner. The aim of this study was to investigate preservice history teachers’ perceptions of content knowledge in terms of different variables. Within this scope, Scale of Perceived Competence in History as a Subject Matter was used as the data collection tool. The participants were composed of 305 preservice history teachers receiving pedagogical formation education at 3 different universities in Turkey during 2016-2017 academic year. In this study, it was investigated whether participants’ perceptions of subject matter competency differed in terms of gender, graduation high school, order and reason of choosing the program studied, city of program studied, and general academic average.

scholarly journals The Constructivist Approach to Curriculum Integration of STEM Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Patel
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Constructivist Teaching ◽  
Constructivist Approach ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Integrated Curricula ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Mathematics And Science

Teachers feel that by integrating a little sprinkle of technology and engineering mixed in mathematics and science is enough to integrate STEM across all four disciplines. This shows how one of the biggest educational challenges for K – 12 STEM education is that few general guidelines or models exist for teachers to follow regarding how to teach using STEM integration approaches in their classroom. This also goes to show how the most common conception of STEM education might be the notion of integration – meaning that STEM is the purposeful integrations of the various disciplines as used in solving real – word problems. Despite the benefits of integrated curricula seem clear, there are barriers that must be negotiated when teachers choose to implement integrated STEM curricula. Therefore, the focus of this literature review will also be on quantitative studies that provide information on teachers continuously using a traditional instruction contradicting the definition of integrated STEM education. To implement effective integrated STEM education, attention has been paid to teachers' using constructivist teaching strategies to implement integrated STEM education that can help students gain interest in STEM subjects.

scholarly journals Teacher Perceptions of the New Mathematics and Science Curriculum: A Step Toward STEM Implementation in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rehaf A. Madani ◽  
Sufian Forawi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Mathematics Textbooks ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Joint Effort ◽  
Engineering And Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Mathematics And Science

STEM education has become one of the most rapidly growing sectors in educational reform globally. Whilst the program was successfully implemented in most countries, unfortunately the introduction in Saudi Arabia was not as successful due to a lack of clarity in the description of its meaning, purpose and framework of application. Although STEM is commonly recognized as a way of strengthening mathematics and science curricula, its exact implications are still unclear for any intervention or modification in any of the subjects related to science, mathematics, engineering and Technology, (STEM) implementation. In 2009, the Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced a new mathematics and science curriculum in a joint effort with Obeikan Research Development Company, as an adapted series of science and mathematics textbooks. The new adapted curricula attempt to make meaningful connection between student’s lives and their educational experiences through the implementation of new teaching practices which include student centred investigation strategies and problem-based learning.

CLIL as a pathway for cross-curricular and translingual classroom practices: A comparative quantitative study on Scottish and Spanish teachers’ views

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110324
Author(s):  
Xabier San Isidro
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Pilot Testing ◽  
Final Questionnaire

Despite the numerous attempts to characterize Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), the specialized literature has shown a dearth of cross-contextual studies on how stakeholders conceptualize classroom practice. This article presents the results of a two-phase comparative quantitative study on teachers’ views on CLIL design, implementation and results in two different contexts, Scotland ( n = 127) and Spain ( n = 186). The first phase focused on the creation, pilot-testing and validation of the research tool. The second phase consisted in administering the final questionnaire and analysing the results. The primary goals were (1) to ascertain whether practitioners’ perceptions on CLIL effects and classroom practices match the topics addressed by research; and (2) to analyse and compare teachers’ views in the two contexts. The study offers interesting insights into the main challenges in integrating language and content. Besides providing a conceptual framework for identifiable classroom practice, findings revealed that both cohorts shared broadly similar perceptions, although the Spanish respondents showed more positive views and significantly higher support for this approach.

scholarly journals Teacher Perspectives on Teaching the STEM Approach to Educational Coding and Robotics in Primary Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Christian García-Carrillo ◽  
Ileana María Greca ◽  
María Fernández-Hawrylak
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Practical Training ◽  
Training Process ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
And Robotics ◽  
Insight Into

An analysis is presented in this study that provides insight into a practical training process and its impact on teachers and their viewpoints toward the integrated STEM approach used in that training process, together with educational coding and robotics, over the first years of compulsory primary education, where STEM implementations are relatively new. A case study was developed by two teachers following the practical training course, including pre- and post-interviews and nonparticipative observation of their classroom practices during the teacher-training sessions. The results revealed the positive perspectives that the teachers held toward the STEM-integrated approach and educational coding and robotics, despite the difficulties that arose in classroom practice. It was concluded that the STEM approach and its methods were beneficial both to pupils and to teachers alike for improving the teaching–learning process.

scholarly journals Beyond policy narratives: exploring the role of pedagogical beliefs in classroom practices of secondary school Civics and Ethical Education teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alemayehu Habte ◽  
Alemayehu Bishaw ◽  
Meskerem Lechissa
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Pedagogical Beliefs ◽  
Ethical Education ◽  
Policy Narratives

AbstractIn Ethiopia, secondary school Civics and Ethical Education has been offered to students with prime objective of producing competent and rational citizens. While policy narratives advocate constructivist pedagogy for achieving this goal of the curriculum, the reality on the ground hints that the subject is far behind achieving its stated goal. In line with this, teachers’ role in implementing the curriculum cannot be understated. Teachers are policy actors who implement the official curriculum. Their classroom practice; however, is largely dependent on their pedagogical beliefs. To this end, this study aimed at examining the role of secondary school Civics and Ethical Education teachers’ pedagogical beliefs in their perceived classroom practices vis-à-vis selected demographic variables. The study was conducted using correlational design participating 324 Civics and Ethical Education teachers from 43 government and private secondary schools in Addis Ababa city. Two-way multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The regression analysis revealed that teachers' pedagogical beliefs explained 45.8% of the variance in classroom practice. Teachers were also found to have strong constructivist belief, even though they do not completely reject traditional belief per se. Their constructivist practice is; however, below the expected level, suggesting the interplay of contextual factor(s) which should be further studied. The findings implied the need to redefine continuous professional programs with emphasis on reflective teaching practice and improve climate of secondary schools.

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