STEM Professional Volunteers in Secondary STEM Education: A Study Proposal to Better Understand the Practices of Educators

Abstract

Recent years have seen major growth in the use of STEM professionals in U. S. secondary school formal and informal programs. Assuming the important perspective of educators in the classroom, this Ph.D. Candidate is studying how educators recruit and deploy STEM professional volunteers in technology-driven STEM competition programs, with a focus on which practices educators find most valuable, and how the use of STEM professional volunteers does or does not relate to pedagogical practices. Study results will shed additional light on how technologies, educators and school settings interact to impact STEM programs that strongly incorporate technology as a driver for learning.