Design of STEM Activities: Experiences and Perceptions of Prospective Secondary School Teachers

STEM education is attracting the attention of researchers in the education of sci-ence, mathematics, technology and engineering, for it encourages school practices that prepare students for real life professions. An important aspect of STEM edu-cation is the design of STEM activities, for this design influences how the activi-ties mediate students’ experiences in the STEM classroom. In the present chapter, we suggest to consider this design in two lenses: The lenses of the activity in-quiry and the lenses of the integration of STEM subjects. We further describe ac-tivities built by secondary school prospective mathematics teachers who were part of a teacher education program for preparing graduate students who finished their first degree in mathematics, engineering or computer science. The prospective teachers designed the STEM activities in the frame of a didactic course called “The didactics of teaching secondary school mathematics”. The research results indicated that the prospective teachers found it difficult to write STEM activities according to the ‘discovery inquiry version’ or the ‘open inquiry version’. More-over, they found it difficult to write activities according to the third or fourth inte-gration types.

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Relationship between Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Instructional Strategies Applied among Secondary School Teachers in Implementing STEM Education

2018 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) ◽

10.1109/tale.2018.8615432 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pei Syan Woo ◽

Zakiah Mohamad Ashari ◽

Zaleha Binti Ismail ◽

Nurul Farhana Jumaat

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Instructional Strategies ◽

Stem Education ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Secondary School Teachers ◽

School Teachers

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Teachers' Mindful Conception about the Use of STEM Education at Secondary School Level

Global Educational Studies Review ◽

10.31703/gesr.2021(vi-iv).12 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol VI (IV) ◽

pp. 111-120

Author(s):

Khadija Rafeeq ◽

Muhammad Qasim Ali ◽

Naveed Zainab

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Stem Education ◽

Creative Thinking ◽

Secondary School Teachers ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Modern Science ◽

School Level ◽

School Teachers ◽

Secondary School Level

A nation's progress rests on its people, and current economic growth conditions demand high-quality education. Modern science education has been superseded by STEM education. The objectives were 1) to find out secondary school teachers' awareness about the use of STEM-based education and its challenges and the relationship between teachers' understanding and use of STEM at the secondary school level. It was descriptive research and used a self-developed questionnaire for data collection from the respondents. A sample of secondary school teachers (350) was selected through a simple random sampling technique. Statistical tests of minimum, maximum, mean score, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation were applied to the collected data. The study concluded that teachers are aware of STEM-based education, and in line with their awareness, they make the most exclusive use of STEM-based education to enhance students' critical and creative thinking abilities.

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The Starter Activity of the Lesson; Considerable Categories and Dynamics

sjesr ◽

10.36902/sjesr-vol4-iss1-2021(350-357) ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 350-357

Author(s):

Dr. Anjum Naz ◽

Dr. Abida Nasreen ◽

Dr. Sumaira Rashid

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Prospective Teachers ◽

Classroom Environment ◽

Research Study ◽

Secondary School Teachers ◽

Lesson Plan ◽

School Teachers ◽

The Subject ◽

And Training ◽

Exhaustive List

Lesson planning is an established skill and teacher trainers are giving it considerable attention during teacher training. The most challenging part of a lesson plan is a starter activity. This activity is not entirely neglected but still not well explored and researched. The purpose of this research study was to discover the categories of starter activities planned by the teachers teaching the matching subjects at the same level while having a contrasting background and training i.e. developed and developing countries’ teachers. Secondary school teachers from UK and Pakistan were selected conveniently. An inventory was used to collect data from the research participants. A focus group was also conducted using ‘Teams’. A phenomenological investigation leads to considerable findings. The aim of starter activities is the same though the categories and extent of use are different. Further, it was established that teachers used starter activities as a tool and bait to engage students, create a friendly classroom environment, and arouse the curiosity of the students however some might be using the same as an opportunity to smile and achievement for everyone to ensure inclusion. It was suggested that considerable importance should be given to the subject and prospective teachers should be provided with an exhaustive list of starter activities categories to enable them to plan and deliver effectively.

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Secondary School Teachers’ Perception on Stem Integrated Education: A Analysis

Review of Economics and Development Studies ◽

10.47067/reads.v6i2.225 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 585-593

Author(s):

Abida Khan ◽

Najam-ul- Kashif

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Stem Education ◽

Secondary School Teachers ◽

School Level ◽

School Teachers ◽

Integrated Education ◽

Leading Role ◽

Science Technology ◽

Secondary School Level ◽

Novel Concept

American President Barak Obama said on Third Annual White House Science Fair in April 2013 that “One of the things that I’ve been focused on as President is how we create an all-hands-on-deck approach to science, technology, engineering, and math… We need to make this a priority to train an army of new teachers in these subject areas and to make sure that all of us as a country are lifting up these subjects for the respect that they deserve”. This single part of the speech pinpoint the importance of STEM education and backbone of it “Teachers”. Cross disciplinary appeals have manifold appeals. Same is in the field of school education. Once it’s a time, science has a leading role at elementary and secondary school level. Then engineering becomes the prominent figure but when technology comes, all other fields merged in it. Mathematics remains the mother of all subjects. Now, it’s a time of STEM integrated education where STEM is the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM is not only confined to an acronym but also leads to the change of education system or approach from the root level. Presented study aimed at to highlight the secondary school teachers’ perception regarding STEM education. As it’s a new and novel concept, so not a big deal of work has done on it. So, existing literature was analyzed systematically to highlight the importance, challenges and future of STEM education which surely helpful to introduce in the developing countries like Pakistan. Presented study just focused on the perception and viewpoints of teachers who are working at elementary or secondary school level. Study concluded that teachers are highly motivated and confident for the STEM integrated education but there is a dire need to give suitable policy for this new trend of education which ultimately addresses the issues of curriculum, pedagogy, learning environment, career developers and future of the learners

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STEM practices in Science teacher education curriculum: Perspectives from two secondary school teachers’ colleges in Zimbabwe

Journal of Research in Science Mathematics and Technology Education ◽

10.31756/jrsmte.422 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 75-92

Author(s):

Christopher Mutseekwa ◽

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Secondary School ◽

Science Teacher ◽

Stem Education ◽

Secondary School Teachers ◽

Science Teacher Education ◽

Education Curriculum ◽

School Teachers ◽

Teachers Colleges ◽

Teacher Education Curriculum

This study assessed how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is integrated in Science Teacher Education curriculum in Zimbabwe. An exploratory mixed methods research design, within the post-positivist paradigm, was used to guide the collection and analysis of data. Data were sourced from 18 Science teacher educators and 108 final year Science student teachers pooled from two secondary school Teachers’ Colleges through a semi-structured questionnaire, follow-up interviews, focus groups and documents. From the findings, it was evident that although a lot was done to promote STEM literacy in the two colleges, integration of STEM education and practices into the science education curriculum was coincidental rather than planned. Participation in Science exhibitions at local and national level that was common and increased enrolment of teacher candidates in STEM subjects was viewed as major ways to promote the initiative in the Teachers’ Colleges. However, support that targeted a teacher education STEM curriculum and integration/liaison with Engineering and industry was largely found lacking, suggesting the need for practices such as field-trips, work visits and partnerships that foster closer collaboration between colleges, schools, professional scientists and industry.

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