scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions of Engagement and Effectiveness of School Community Partnerships: NASA’s Online STEM Professional Development

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Keil ◽  
William H. Rupley ◽  
Janet A. Nichols ◽  
William Dee Nichols ◽  
David Paige ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
School Community ◽  
Community Partnership ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
School Community Partnership ◽  
And Mathematics

<p>Data were collected from 32 teachers using mixed methods to investigate their perceptions of the value of online professional development (PD) offered through a school-community partnership with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The partnership between multiple school districts nationwide and NASA provided teachers with an online Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) PD course called MicroGX. Data from this study provide evidence that teachers perceived MicroGX as a positive PD experience. Teachers indicated that they would recommend this PD to other teachers, and overall were satisfied with interaction with others, resources, support, content, and content delivery. Effective PD components include building teachers’ content knowledge, impacting students’ learning, increasing teaching resources, and providing support for participation in PD.</p>

scholarly journals Enhancing Thai In-service Teachers’ Perceptions of STEM Education with Tablet-based Professional Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasithep Pitiporntapin ◽  
Panuvit Chantara ◽  
Wachira Srikoom ◽  
Prasart Nuangchalerm ◽  
Lisa M. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Stem Teaching ◽  
Do So

National efforts in Thailand are currently focused on promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in order to better prepare the future generations to be an effective and productive workforce. In accordance with this mission, the goal of this research is to develop a tablet-based professional development (PD) program to enhance in-service teachers&rsquo; perceptions of STEM education, which will directly affect both their decision to incorporate STEM, as well as their ability to effectively do so in their own classroom. To assess the efficacy of the PD program, we recruited 240 STEM and non-STEM teachers from basic education schools in Thailand to participate in the program. The activities in this program were divided into three parts: 1) increasing knowledge about STEM education, 2) providing demonstrations of STEM teaching, and 3) developing STEM-based lessons. Data were collected throughout the tablet-based PD program from focus group discussion sessions, pre-post questionnaires, and informal interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that before participating in the tablet-based PD program, the majority of participants had limited knowledge on STEM education and were uncertain on how to integrate STEM into their instructional practices. They also had difficulty with connecting the different STEM disciplines in their activities. Although they were interested in implementing the STEM educational approach, they lacked confidence on how to accomplish this. After completing the tablet-based PD program, many participants had a much better understanding of STEM education and greater confidence with implementing STEM pedagogical approaches.

scholarly journals The Role of Rural School Leaders in a School-Community Partnership

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Sarah Zuckerman
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Partnerships ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Community Partnership ◽  
School Community Partnership ◽  
Rural Principals

Rural schools play central roles in their communities, and rural education scholars advocate for rural school-community partnerships to support school and community renewal. Across the United States, including in rural areas, formal models for school-community partnerships have been scaled up. The literature on rural principals highlights their roles in developing school-community partnerships, yet questions remain as to how school leaders engage in such partnerships. Using boundary-spanning leadership as a theoretical lens, this descriptive study examines the role of district and school leaders in a regional school-community partnership, including as founding members, champions of collaboration, cheerleaders for the partnership, and amplifiers of often excluded voices.

scholarly journals Assessing Preschool Teachers’ Challenges and Needs for Creativity in STEM Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Muhammad Syawal Amran ◽  
Kamariah Abu Bakar ◽  
Shahlan Surat ◽  
Siti Nur Diyana Mahmud ◽  
Amirul Anwar Bin Mohd Shafie
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Specific Support ◽  
And Mathematics

Abstract: Creativity in teaching is important in order to ensure children are engaged in learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). However, previous research has claimed creativity in learning STEM for children is not adequately supported by teacher in classroom due to the lack of preparation, content knowledge and skills. This study aims to assess the needs and challenges of promoting creativity in STEM education. In this study, preschool teachers (n= 22) were interviewed as they are the key informants who are involved in STEM education. The semi-structured interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis and were qualitatively coded. Results illustrate that there are several distinctive themes identified as described by the participants when discussing the needs and challenges of implementing integrated creativity skill in STEM education as well as the support that would be most helpful in overcoming them. The results highlighted a huge gap between creativity knowledge and the implementation of creativity in STEM education. Participants also provided specific support needed to integrate creativity in STEM education. Preliminary findings suggest that many teachers are interested in integrating creativity skills in STEM education. This research sheds light on the needs and challenges for professional pre-school teachers by providing them pedagogical module as well as professional training to promote creativity in teaching STEM   Keywords: Creativity Skills, Needs and Challenges, STEM

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