Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that will be needed in the future of work and the soft skills that students are currently missing. These skills include teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, work ethic, persistence, emotional intelligence, organizational skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution. To address this soft skills gap, this paper also explores various collaboration strategies between employers and academic institutions, such as working jointly on curriculum, raising awareness, establishing leadership support, and building communities of success. These can be implemented to enhance the soft skills capabilities of STEM undergraduate students entering the workforce. This qualitative research examined STEM employers’ perceptions of the most essential soft skills needed and missing among recently hired STEM undergraduates. Findings identified the top ten most in-demand soft skills needed for the next five years with leadership and human-connection on the top of the list. Furthermore, the result of this inquiry indicates that the soft skill gap in current STEM undergraduates is not only evident, but it is steadily increasing. To address this problem, this paper suggests that an ongoing synergy is needed between employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to guide students in developing and acquiring these essential skills. This effort will hopefully improve student employability, increase employer outcomes, and ultimately reduce the nationwide soft skills gap. Also, it provides insights into soft skills that organizations and HEIs should invest in the years ahead.
{"title":"Strategically Addressing the Soft Skills Gap Among STEM Undergraduates","authors":"Haleh Karimi, Anthony Piña","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2021.99","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2021.99","url":null,"abstract":"Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that will be needed in the future of work and the soft skills that students are currently missing. These skills include teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, work ethic, persistence, emotional intelligence, organizational skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution. To address this soft skills gap, this paper also explores various collaboration strategies between employers and academic institutions, such as working jointly on curriculum, raising awareness, establishing leadership support, and building communities of success. These can be implemented to enhance the soft skills capabilities of STEM undergraduate students entering the workforce. This qualitative research examined STEM employers’ perceptions of the most essential soft skills needed and missing among recently hired STEM undergraduates. Findings identified the top ten most in-demand soft skills needed for the next five years with leadership and human-connection on the top of the list. Furthermore, the result of this inquiry indicates that the soft skill gap in current STEM undergraduates is not only evident, but it is steadily increasing. To address this problem, this paper suggests that an ongoing synergy is needed between employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to guide students in developing and acquiring these essential skills. This effort will hopefully improve student employability, increase employer outcomes, and ultimately reduce the nationwide soft skills gap. Also, it provides insights into soft skills that organizations and HEIs should invest in the years ahead.","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"116 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117189669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Children’s robotics skills can be assessed in various ways, one being examining the unique projects that they create. This paper discusses the multi-phase development and testing of a robotics project rubric. The rubric considers both the programming concepts and the aesthetic design elements of a project, which enables researchers and practitioners to determine the overall level of complexity exhibited in the robotics project. This paper presents the background literature and theoretical framework that contributed to the rubric design and summarizes findings from iteratively developing and testing the rubric with a total of 173 robotics projects. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.
{"title":"Assessing Robotics Skills in Early Childhood: Development and Testing of a Tool for Evaluating Children’s Projects","authors":"M. Govind, M. Bers","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2021.102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2021.102","url":null,"abstract":"Children’s robotics skills can be assessed in various ways, one being examining the unique projects that they create. This paper discusses the multi-phase development and testing of a robotics project rubric. The rubric considers both the programming concepts and the aesthetic design elements of a project, which enables researchers and practitioners to determine the overall level of complexity exhibited in the robotics project. This paper presents the background literature and theoretical framework that contributed to the rubric design and summarizes findings from iteratively developing and testing the rubric with a total of 173 robotics projects. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"278 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121036529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In recent years STEM education has been the focus of Australian government funding initiatives, policy and curriculum development at the national and state levels and a key driver of school innovation. Principals, teachers and students have been called upon to develop their capability and interest in the individual STEM discipline subjects or to engage in interdisciplinary STEM activities. Much of the focus on STEM has been driven by a national agenda informed by the needs of industry, and research that indicates that the students graduating from schools and universities today with STEM qualifications will not be sufficient for society’s needs. While the agenda encompasses more than individual teachers or schools, it is teachers who are at the forefront of its implementation in classrooms. In this paper we report on the perceptions of teachers about issues impacting on the effective teaching of STEM in rural, regional and remote Australia, and strategies they use to overcome issues/barriers and building the confidence and capacity of STEM teachers. Based on these, the paper reports some potential solutions to the issues faced by schools in rural, regional and remote Australia addressing the demands of the STEM Education focus.
{"title":"Responding to the Demands of the STEM Education Agenda: The Experiences of Primary and Secondary Teachers from Rural, Regional and Remote Australia","authors":"Sharon Fraser, K. Beswick, Suzanne Crowley","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.62","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000In recent years STEM education has been the focus of Australian government funding initiatives, policy and curriculum development at the national and state levels and a key driver of school innovation. Principals, teachers and students have been called upon to develop their capability and interest in the individual STEM discipline subjects or to engage in interdisciplinary STEM activities. Much of the focus on STEM has been driven by a national agenda informed by the needs of industry, and research that indicates that the students graduating from schools and universities today with STEM qualifications will not be sufficient for society’s needs. While the agenda encompasses more than individual teachers or schools, it is teachers who are at the forefront of its implementation in classrooms. In this paper we report on the perceptions of teachers about issues impacting on the effective teaching of STEM in rural, regional and remote Australia, and strategies they use to overcome issues/barriers and building the confidence and capacity of STEM teachers. Based on these, the paper reports some potential solutions to the issues faced by schools in rural, regional and remote Australia addressing the demands of the STEM Education focus. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114529707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education has become a focus in the Australian context, particularly since the release of government-initiated reports into Australia’s falling performance on international tests and fewer enrolments in senior school STEM subjects and university STEM degrees. Since student engagement in STEM subjects begins to decline in primary school (Kindergarten to grade 6 in Australia [5-12 years of age]), addressing engagement and achievement in the STEM subjects requires support for teachers to design curriculum that enthuses students and develops their understanding of the role of the STEM subjects in solving real-world problems. To that end, a year-long professional learning program was developed to assist small teams of teachers from each of 13 primary schools in designing integrated STEM curriculum approaches. To determine the impact of the program on teachers’ capacity to design integrated STEM curriculum and on students’ STEM attitudes and aspirations, data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This paper presents a case study of one of the participating primary schools. From the 44 grade 3 students who completed both pre- and post-surveys, students’ attitudes and aspirations towards the STEM subjects showed significant positive shifts. Analyses of school documents and transcripts of interviews with four teachers and a group of four students from the school enabled.
{"title":"“Can We Build the Wind Powered Car Again?” Students’ and Teachers’ Responses to a New Integrated STEM Curriculum","authors":"Judy Anderson, K. Wilson, Deborah Tully, J. Way","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.61","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.61","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000Recently, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education has become a focus in the Australian context, particularly since the release of government-initiated reports into Australia’s falling performance on international tests and fewer enrolments in senior school STEM subjects and university STEM degrees. Since student engagement in STEM subjects begins to decline in primary school (Kindergarten to grade 6 in Australia [5-12 years of age]), addressing engagement and achievement in the STEM subjects requires support for teachers to design curriculum that enthuses students and develops their understanding of the role of the STEM subjects in solving real-world problems. To that end, a year-long professional learning program was developed to assist small teams of teachers from each of 13 primary schools in designing integrated STEM curriculum approaches. To determine the impact of the program on teachers’ capacity to design integrated STEM curriculum and on students’ STEM attitudes and aspirations, data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This paper presents a case study of one of the participating primary schools. From the 44 grade 3 students who completed both pre- and post-surveys, students’ attitudes and aspirations towards the STEM subjects showed significant positive shifts. Analyses of school documents and transcripts of interviews with four teachers and a group of four students from the school enabled. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"100 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131767164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Encouraging females to engage in and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and vocations are key priorities for stakeholders and primary aims of the Australian Government-funded STEM in Situ (WISE 2016-18) project. Using a researcher-designed student survey by two of the authors, this article reports on the STEM-related attitudes, engagement and vocational intentions of female students involved in the project. The research survey developed for the project collected data in 2017-8 from 221 female students in Years 5-9 (11 to 16 years of age) from various public schools in Australia. Factor analytic and repeated measures t-tests data analysis techniques were used to explore the factor structure of the survey items and to examine students’ STEM-related attitudes, engagement and future work intentions both before and after their participation in the STEM in Situ project. The findings highlight the outcomes of the STEM in Situ workshops upon female students attitudes and engagements with STEM careers. The findings have the potential to inform future policies related to STEM interventions for young women.
{"title":"Investigating Female Students’ Stem-Related Attitudes, Engagement and Work-Intentions When Involved in a University Workshop Initiative","authors":"Tasos N. Barkatsas, G. Cooper, P. McLaughlin","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.63","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.63","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000Encouraging females to engage in and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and vocations are key priorities for stakeholders and primary aims of the Australian Government-funded STEM in Situ (WISE 2016-18) project. Using a researcher-designed student survey by two of the authors, this article reports on the STEM-related attitudes, engagement and vocational intentions of female students involved in the project. The research survey developed for the project collected data in 2017-8 from 221 female students in Years 5-9 (11 to 16 years of age) from various public schools in Australia. Factor analytic and repeated measures t-tests data analysis techniques were used to explore the factor structure of the survey items and to examine students’ STEM-related attitudes, engagement and future work intentions both before and after their participation in the STEM in Situ project. The findings highlight the outcomes of the STEM in Situ workshops upon female students attitudes and engagements with STEM careers. The findings have the potential to inform future policies related to STEM interventions for young women. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130143036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Integrated STEM learning experiences provide the opportunity for students to make connections among the various disciplines. The outcomes for many STEM activities, however, are only reported for one discipline and provide little guidance for taking an integrated approach to learning in the classroom. This paper reports on a Year 5 STEM activity based on designing, making, and trialling seed dispersal devices. A focus on the data collected by the class and the subsequent graphical representations created during follow- up interviews, illustrates the way in which the students made connections to multiple STEM disciplines. The results indicate that Year 5 students have the capacity to use graphical representations of data to describe the performance of seed dispersal devices and base informal inferences about the performance of the devices on their knowledge of design, construction, materials, and flight from the various STEM disciplines.
{"title":"Focusing on Data: Year 5 Students Making STEM Connections","authors":"Noleine Fitzallen, Suzie Wright, Jane Watson","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.60","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.60","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000Integrated STEM learning experiences provide the opportunity for students to make connections among the various disciplines. The outcomes for many STEM activities, however, are only reported for one discipline and provide little guidance for taking an integrated approach to learning in the classroom. This paper reports on a Year 5 STEM activity based on designing, making, and trialling seed dispersal devices. A focus on the data collected by the class and the subsequent graphical representations created during follow- up interviews, illustrates the way in which the students made connections to multiple STEM disciplines. The results indicate that Year 5 students have the capacity to use graphical representations of data to describe the performance of seed dispersal devices and base informal inferences about the performance of the devices on their knowledge of design, construction, materials, and flight from the various STEM disciplines. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120964345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article presents an overview of how interdisciplinary education agendas are being interpreted and enacted within three Australian states: New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. A comparative discussion is offered to ascertain the common and contrasting inhibitors and enablers of these agendas, specifically approaches to STEM and STEAM across the three states. Consideration is given to the priorities espoused in current State and Federal policy agendas. The article explores how disciplinary acronyms such as STEM and STEAM are being mobilised to empower or exclude particular disciplines, and how this implicates upon enactment of the three dimensions of the Australian Curriculum. By focusing on the contested spaces between these disciplines, the distinctiveness and potential of various interdisciplinary agendas can be better understood. In turn, ways of recognising, embracing and prioritising different forms of disciplinary knowledge can be identified in the spaces between disciplinary curriculum and pedagogy. These diverse ways of knowing are posited as integral to equipping young people for uncertain futures.
{"title":"STEM and STEAM and the Spaces Between: An Overview of Education Agendas Pertaining to ‘Disciplinarity’ Across Three Australian States","authors":"A. MacDonald, J. Hunter, K. Wise, Sharon Fraser","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.64","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000This article presents an overview of how interdisciplinary education agendas are being interpreted and enacted within three Australian states: New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. A comparative discussion is offered to ascertain the common and contrasting inhibitors and enablers of these agendas, specifically approaches to STEM and STEAM across the three states. Consideration is given to the priorities espoused in current State and Federal policy agendas. The article explores how disciplinary acronyms such as STEM and STEAM are being mobilised to empower or exclude particular disciplines, and how this implicates upon enactment of the three dimensions of the Australian Curriculum. By focusing on the contested spaces between these disciplines, the distinctiveness and potential of various interdisciplinary agendas can be better understood. In turn, ways of recognising, embracing and prioritising different forms of disciplinary knowledge can be identified in the spaces between disciplinary curriculum and pedagogy. These diverse ways of knowing are posited as integral to equipping young people for uncertain futures. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130917182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"STEM Education: An Emerging Field of Inquiry","authors":"Richelle Marynowski","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2019.65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2019.65","url":null,"abstract":"No abstract","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"75 1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133406324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel B Schwab, L. W. Cole, Karna M Desai, Jason Hemann, K. R. Hummels, Adam V. Maltese
Providing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) experiences to middle and high school students outside of traditional classroom settings is critical in preparing learners to be literate in these fields. At the same time, providing graduate students in science and mathematics with independent pedagogical opportunities that prepare them to effectively teach and communicate STEM subjects to the general public are exceedingly rare. Here, we present the Foundations in Science and Mathematics program (FSM), a rapidly growing summer STEM educational program operated entirely by graduate students at Indiana University, Bloomington, that seeks to achieve both of these goals. First, we detail the organization and scope of FSM, the extent to which it grew since its founding in 2011, and the general aims and design of its courses. Second, we address the demographic composition of the program, and evaluate its pedagogical success through learning evaluations and student surveys that gauge student academic improvement and course satisfaction, respectively. Overall, we find that FSM significantly increased student learning and that courses were given favorable reviews by students. Finally, we discuss the logistical operation of FSM, with the goal of assisting motivated graduate students in developing similar programs at other academic institutions. In combination, we find that FSM was highly successful at achieving its goals of enhancing student learning and promoting effective pedagogy among graduate students, and we encourage other institutions to establish similar programs in their own academic communities.
{"title":"A Summer Stem Outreach Program Run By Graduate Students: Successes, Challenges, And Recommendations For Implementation","authors":"Daniel B Schwab, L. W. Cole, Karna M Desai, Jason Hemann, K. R. Hummels, Adam V. Maltese","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2018.40","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2018.40","url":null,"abstract":"Providing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) experiences to middle and high school students outside of traditional classroom settings is critical in preparing learners to be literate in these fields. At the same time, providing graduate students in science and mathematics with independent pedagogical opportunities that prepare them to effectively teach and communicate STEM subjects to the general public are exceedingly rare. Here, we present the Foundations in Science and Mathematics program (FSM), a rapidly growing summer STEM educational program operated entirely by graduate students at Indiana University, Bloomington, that seeks to achieve both of these goals. First, we detail the organization and scope of FSM, the extent to which it grew since its founding in 2011, and the general aims and design of its courses. Second, we address the demographic composition of the program, and evaluate its pedagogical success through learning evaluations and student surveys that gauge student academic improvement and course satisfaction, respectively. Overall, we find that FSM significantly increased student learning and that courses were given favorable reviews by students. Finally, we discuss the logistical operation of FSM, with the goal of assisting motivated graduate students in developing similar programs at other academic institutions. In combination, we find that FSM was highly successful at achieving its goals of enhancing student learning and promoting effective pedagogy among graduate students, and we encourage other institutions to establish similar programs in their own academic communities.","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130757352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of current study was to explore the weaknesses and strengths in pre-service primary teachers’ (PST) conceptualization of STEM and their knowledge of STEM pedagogy after engaging in integrated STEM (science, technology, mathematics and engineering) activities for one semester. The course activities emphasized concepts related to engineering design process, the interrelatedness of STEM subjects, inquiry and problem solving. The integrated STEM activities were implemented for six weeks. Data were collected through a questionnaire, reflection papers, semi-structured interviews with a sub set of participants (n=8/20). Results show that engaging students in immersive STEM activities helped PSTs develop foundational knowledge regarding STEM, engineering design and STEM pedagogy, which they could built on later to more effectively teach through STEM integration. Discussion focuses on how PSTs and practicing teachers can be supported through sustained professional development for STEM integration pedagogy.
{"title":"The Impact of Engagement in STEM Activities on Primary Preservice Teachers’ Conceptualization of STEM and Knowledge of STEM Pedagogy","authors":"Mehmet Aydeniz, Kader Bilican","doi":"10.51355/jstem.2018.46","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2018.46","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of current study was to explore the weaknesses and strengths in pre-service primary teachers’ (PST) conceptualization of STEM and their knowledge of STEM pedagogy after engaging in integrated STEM (science, technology, mathematics and engineering) activities for one semester. The course activities emphasized concepts related to engineering design process, the interrelatedness of STEM subjects, inquiry and problem solving. The integrated STEM activities were implemented for six weeks. Data were collected through a questionnaire, reflection papers, semi-structured interviews with a sub set of participants (n=8/20). Results show that engaging students in immersive STEM activities helped PSTs develop foundational knowledge regarding STEM, engineering design and STEM pedagogy, which they could built on later to more effectively teach through STEM integration. Discussion focuses on how PSTs and practicing teachers can be supported through sustained professional development for STEM integration pedagogy.","PeriodicalId":252126,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in STEM Education","volume":"116 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121441210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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