Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00459-y
Yeping Li
From August 2014 to July 2023, the International Journal of STEM Education went through nine publication cycle years. In this editorial, I provide a brief summary of the journal’s development up to and including its ninth publication cycle year (August 2022–July 2023), and share insights about the journal’s efforts in establishing itself as a worldwide learning and research hub for the broad STEM education community.
{"title":"Nine years of development in establishing the journal as a learning and research hub in STEM education","authors":"Yeping Li","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00459-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00459-y","url":null,"abstract":"From August 2014 to July 2023, the International Journal of STEM Education went through nine publication cycle years. In this editorial, I provide a brief summary of the journal’s development up to and including its ninth publication cycle year (August 2022–July 2023), and share insights about the journal’s efforts in establishing itself as a worldwide learning and research hub for the broad STEM education community.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138567200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-30DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00449-0
Joshua M. Rosenberg, Patrick N. Beymer, Vicky Phun, Jennifer A. Schmidt
Situational engagement in science is often described as context-sensitive and varying over time due to the impact of situational factors. But this type of engagement is often studied using data that are collected and analyzed in ways that do not readily permit an understanding of the situational nature of engagement. The purpose of this study is to understand—and quantify—the sources of variability for learners’ situational engagement in science, to better set the stage for future work that measures situational factors and accounts for these factors in models. We examined how learners' situational cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement varies at the situational, individual learner, and classroom levels in three science learning environments (classrooms and an out-of-school program). Through the analysis of 12,244 self-reports of engagement collected using intensive longitudinal methods from 1173 youths, we found that the greatest source of variation in situational engagement was attributable to individual learners, with less being attributable to—in order—situational and classroom sources. Cognitive engagement varied relatively more between individuals, and affective engagement varied more between situations. Given the observed variability of situational engagement across learners and contexts, it is vital for studies targeting dynamic psychological and social constructs in science learning settings to appropriately account for situational fluctuations when collecting and analyzing data.
{"title":"Using intensive longitudinal methods to quantify the sources of variability for situational engagement in science learning environments","authors":"Joshua M. Rosenberg, Patrick N. Beymer, Vicky Phun, Jennifer A. Schmidt","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00449-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00449-0","url":null,"abstract":"Situational engagement in science is often described as context-sensitive and varying over time due to the impact of situational factors. But this type of engagement is often studied using data that are collected and analyzed in ways that do not readily permit an understanding of the situational nature of engagement. The purpose of this study is to understand—and quantify—the sources of variability for learners’ situational engagement in science, to better set the stage for future work that measures situational factors and accounts for these factors in models. We examined how learners' situational cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement varies at the situational, individual learner, and classroom levels in three science learning environments (classrooms and an out-of-school program). Through the analysis of 12,244 self-reports of engagement collected using intensive longitudinal methods from 1173 youths, we found that the greatest source of variation in situational engagement was attributable to individual learners, with less being attributable to—in order—situational and classroom sources. Cognitive engagement varied relatively more between individuals, and affective engagement varied more between situations. Given the observed variability of situational engagement across learners and contexts, it is vital for studies targeting dynamic psychological and social constructs in science learning settings to appropriately account for situational fluctuations when collecting and analyzing data.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138515917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-22DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00458-z
S. Feola, J. E. Lewis, J. D. McAlpin, L. B. Prevost, J. Skvoretz, M. Stains, B. A. Couch, B. Earl, J. P. Ziker, A. K. Lane, S. E. Shadle
Enacting STEM education reform is a complex task and there are a variety of approaches that might be selected by change agents. When working on an institutional change project to impact multiple parts of the STEM education system, teams of change agents may select multiple strategies and tactics to enact at one time and over multiple years of a project. However, the literature lacks studies which document and analyze strategies and tactics used by change project teams in a way that can be useful for other change agents. The current study seeks to fill this gap by investigating National Science Foundation-funded change initiatives at three public research universities focused on encouraging the adoption of evidenced-based instructional practices by STEM faculty in order to understand the strategies used within and across projects. Qualitative framework analysis using the lens of the Henderson et al. (Journal of Research in Science Teaching 48(8): 952–984, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20439 ) Four Categories of Change Strategies Model showed that institutional projects enact a wide range of tactics that span the four strategies represented in the four categories of the model both across institutions and within each institution. The analysis documents a number of change tactics not previously described by the model and offers expanded definitions of the change processes that operate within each category in the context of institutional change projects. This descriptive work advances our understanding of the breadth and depth of actions taken by institutional change initiatives and provides insights into types of variations that might be observed based on different institutional contexts. The current analysis both affirms the value of the original model and identifies expanded ways to think about the four categories within the context of institutional change projects.
{"title":"STEM education institutional change projects: examining enacted approaches through the lens of the Four Categories of Change Strategies Model","authors":"S. Feola, J. E. Lewis, J. D. McAlpin, L. B. Prevost, J. Skvoretz, M. Stains, B. A. Couch, B. Earl, J. P. Ziker, A. K. Lane, S. E. Shadle","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00458-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00458-z","url":null,"abstract":"Enacting STEM education reform is a complex task and there are a variety of approaches that might be selected by change agents. When working on an institutional change project to impact multiple parts of the STEM education system, teams of change agents may select multiple strategies and tactics to enact at one time and over multiple years of a project. However, the literature lacks studies which document and analyze strategies and tactics used by change project teams in a way that can be useful for other change agents. The current study seeks to fill this gap by investigating National Science Foundation-funded change initiatives at three public research universities focused on encouraging the adoption of evidenced-based instructional practices by STEM faculty in order to understand the strategies used within and across projects. Qualitative framework analysis using the lens of the Henderson et al. (Journal of Research in Science Teaching 48(8): 952–984, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20439 ) Four Categories of Change Strategies Model showed that institutional projects enact a wide range of tactics that span the four strategies represented in the four categories of the model both across institutions and within each institution. The analysis documents a number of change tactics not previously described by the model and offers expanded definitions of the change processes that operate within each category in the context of institutional change projects. This descriptive work advances our understanding of the breadth and depth of actions taken by institutional change initiatives and provides insights into types of variations that might be observed based on different institutional contexts. The current analysis both affirms the value of the original model and identifies expanded ways to think about the four categories within the context of institutional change projects.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138515907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-16DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00452-5
Benjamin H. Nam, Qiong Bai
With the increasing demand brought on by the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution in the period of post-digital education and bio-digital technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has played a pivotal role in supporting human intelligence and contributing to intellectuals within science, technology, science, and mathematics (STEM) and in the broader field of higher education. Thus, this study examines how writers for mainstream STEM journals and higher education magazines perceive the impact of ChatGPT, a powerful AI chatbot, on STEM research and higher education. ChatGPT can generate realistic texts based on user prompts. However, this platform also poses ethical challenges for academic integrity, authorship, and publication. Using a comparative media discourse analysis approach, this study analyzes 72 articles from four media outlets: (a) Springer Nature; (b) The Chronicle of Higher Education; (c) Inside Higher Ed; and (d) Times Higher Education. The results show that the writers expressed various concerns and opinions about the potential conflicts and crises caused by ChatGPT in three areas: (a) academic research and publication; (b) teaching and learning; and (c) human resources management. This study concludes with some policy implications and suggestions for future research on ChatGPT and AI ethics in academia by reilluminating the most overarching policy concerns related to ethical writing in STEM research and higher education and limitations to the blindness to authorship and academic integrity among diverse stakeholders.
{"title":"ChatGPT and its ethical implications for STEM research and higher education: a media discourse analysis","authors":"Benjamin H. Nam, Qiong Bai","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00452-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00452-5","url":null,"abstract":"With the increasing demand brought on by the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution in the period of post-digital education and bio-digital technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has played a pivotal role in supporting human intelligence and contributing to intellectuals within science, technology, science, and mathematics (STEM) and in the broader field of higher education. Thus, this study examines how writers for mainstream STEM journals and higher education magazines perceive the impact of ChatGPT, a powerful AI chatbot, on STEM research and higher education. ChatGPT can generate realistic texts based on user prompts. However, this platform also poses ethical challenges for academic integrity, authorship, and publication. Using a comparative media discourse analysis approach, this study analyzes 72 articles from four media outlets: (a) Springer Nature; (b) The Chronicle of Higher Education; (c) Inside Higher Ed; and (d) Times Higher Education. The results show that the writers expressed various concerns and opinions about the potential conflicts and crises caused by ChatGPT in three areas: (a) academic research and publication; (b) teaching and learning; and (c) human resources management. This study concludes with some policy implications and suggestions for future research on ChatGPT and AI ethics in academia by reilluminating the most overarching policy concerns related to ethical writing in STEM research and higher education and limitations to the blindness to authorship and academic integrity among diverse stakeholders.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138515916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-13DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00457-0
Brett D. Jones, Margaret Ellis, Fei Gu, Hande Fenerci
Abstract Background The motivational climate within a course has been shown to be an important predictor of students’ engagement and course ratings. Because little is known about how students’ perceptions of the motivational climate in a computer science (CS) course vary by sex, race/ethnicity, and academic major, we investigated these questions: (1) To what extent do students’ achievement and perceptions of motivational climate, cost, ease, and effort vary by sex, race/ethnicity, or major? and (2) To what extent do the relationships between students’ achievement and perceptions of motivational climate, cost, and effort vary by sex, race/ethnicity, and major? Participants were enrolled in a large CS course at a large public university in the southeastern U.S. A survey was administered to 981 students in the course over three years. Path analyses and one-way MANOVAs and ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences between groups. Results Students’ perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, interest, and caring were similar across sexes and races/ethnicities. However, women and Asian students reported lower success expectancies. Students in the same academic major as the course topic (i.e., CS) generally reported higher perceptions of the motivational climate than students who did not major or minor in the course topic. Final grades in the course did not vary by sex or race/ethnicity, except that the White and Asian students obtained higher grades than the Black students. Across sex, race/ethnicity, and major, students’ perceptions of the motivational climate were positively related to effort, which was positively related to achievement. Conclusions One implication is that females, Asian students, and non-CS students may need more support, or different types of support, to help them believe that they can succeed in computer science courses. On average, these students were less confident in their abilities to succeed in the course and were more likely to report that they did not have the time needed to do well in the course. A second implication for instructors is that it may be possible to increase students’ effort and achievement by increasing students’ perceptions of the five key constructs in the MUSIC Model of Motivation: eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring.
{"title":"Motivational climate predicts effort and achievement in a large computer science course: examining differences across sexes, races/ethnicities, and academic majors","authors":"Brett D. Jones, Margaret Ellis, Fei Gu, Hande Fenerci","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00457-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00457-0","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background The motivational climate within a course has been shown to be an important predictor of students’ engagement and course ratings. Because little is known about how students’ perceptions of the motivational climate in a computer science (CS) course vary by sex, race/ethnicity, and academic major, we investigated these questions: (1) To what extent do students’ achievement and perceptions of motivational climate, cost, ease, and effort vary by sex, race/ethnicity, or major? and (2) To what extent do the relationships between students’ achievement and perceptions of motivational climate, cost, and effort vary by sex, race/ethnicity, and major? Participants were enrolled in a large CS course at a large public university in the southeastern U.S. A survey was administered to 981 students in the course over three years. Path analyses and one-way MANOVAs and ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences between groups. Results Students’ perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, interest, and caring were similar across sexes and races/ethnicities. However, women and Asian students reported lower success expectancies. Students in the same academic major as the course topic (i.e., CS) generally reported higher perceptions of the motivational climate than students who did not major or minor in the course topic. Final grades in the course did not vary by sex or race/ethnicity, except that the White and Asian students obtained higher grades than the Black students. Across sex, race/ethnicity, and major, students’ perceptions of the motivational climate were positively related to effort, which was positively related to achievement. Conclusions One implication is that females, Asian students, and non-CS students may need more support, or different types of support, to help them believe that they can succeed in computer science courses. On average, these students were less confident in their abilities to succeed in the course and were more likely to report that they did not have the time needed to do well in the course. A second implication for instructors is that it may be possible to increase students’ effort and achievement by increasing students’ perceptions of the five key constructs in the MUSIC Model of Motivation: eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"63 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136347316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-04DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00455-2
Silvia Wen-Yu Lee, Hsing-Ying Tu, Guang-Lin Chen, Hung-Ming Lin
Abstract Background There exist shared competencies between computational thinking (CT) and mathematics, and these two domains also mutually benefit from various teaching approaches. However, the linkages between mathematics and computational thinking lack robust empirical support, particularly from student-centered learning perspectives. Our study aimed to enhance our understanding of the connections between students' mathematics learning and computational thinking. To assess students' mathematics learning, we measured their beliefs about mathematics learning and their level of mathematical literacy (ML). Our hypothesis posited that students' beliefs concerning mathematics learning, encompassing their views on the nature of mathematics and their attitude towards the subject, can both directly and indirectly influence their CT, with ML serving as a mediating factor. Our data were gathered through surveys and tests administered to eighth- and ninth-grade students. Data were analyzed using partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM). Results The evaluation of the measurement model indicated strong internal consistency for each construct. Both convergent and discriminant validity were also established. Upon assessing the structural model, it was found that beliefs about the nature of mathematics positively predicted attitudes towards mathematics, and this belief also indirectly predicted ML through positive attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, ML directly and positively predicted both CT subscales. Notably, a comprehensive mediating effect of ML on beliefs about mathematics learning and CT was identified in the analysis. Conclusions This study advances the understanding of the relationships between mathematics learning and CT. We have further confirmed the importance of mathematical literacy in predicting CT and its mediating role between beliefs about mathematics learning and CT. It is suggested that teachers could promote students’ CT competence by enhancing their mathematical literacy or integrating mathematics and CT into the same learning activities. Finally, we propose that upcoming investigations treat CT assessments as formative constructs, diverging from their reflective counterparts.
{"title":"Exploring the multifaceted roles of mathematics learning in predicting students' computational thinking competency","authors":"Silvia Wen-Yu Lee, Hsing-Ying Tu, Guang-Lin Chen, Hung-Ming Lin","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00455-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00455-2","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background There exist shared competencies between computational thinking (CT) and mathematics, and these two domains also mutually benefit from various teaching approaches. However, the linkages between mathematics and computational thinking lack robust empirical support, particularly from student-centered learning perspectives. Our study aimed to enhance our understanding of the connections between students' mathematics learning and computational thinking. To assess students' mathematics learning, we measured their beliefs about mathematics learning and their level of mathematical literacy (ML). Our hypothesis posited that students' beliefs concerning mathematics learning, encompassing their views on the nature of mathematics and their attitude towards the subject, can both directly and indirectly influence their CT, with ML serving as a mediating factor. Our data were gathered through surveys and tests administered to eighth- and ninth-grade students. Data were analyzed using partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM). Results The evaluation of the measurement model indicated strong internal consistency for each construct. Both convergent and discriminant validity were also established. Upon assessing the structural model, it was found that beliefs about the nature of mathematics positively predicted attitudes towards mathematics, and this belief also indirectly predicted ML through positive attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, ML directly and positively predicted both CT subscales. Notably, a comprehensive mediating effect of ML on beliefs about mathematics learning and CT was identified in the analysis. Conclusions This study advances the understanding of the relationships between mathematics learning and CT. We have further confirmed the importance of mathematical literacy in predicting CT and its mediating role between beliefs about mathematics learning and CT. It is suggested that teachers could promote students’ CT competence by enhancing their mathematical literacy or integrating mathematics and CT into the same learning activities. Finally, we propose that upcoming investigations treat CT assessments as formative constructs, diverging from their reflective counterparts.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"22 11","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135773568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-02DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00456-1
Laila El‑Hamamsy, Barbara Bruno, Catherine Audrin, Morgane Chevalier, Sunny Avry, Jessica Dehler Zufferey, Francesco Mondada
{"title":"Correction: How are primary school computer science curricular reforms contributing to equity? Impact on student learning, perception of the discipline, and gender gaps","authors":"Laila El‑Hamamsy, Barbara Bruno, Catherine Audrin, Morgane Chevalier, Sunny Avry, Jessica Dehler Zufferey, Francesco Mondada","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00456-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00456-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"9 17","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135973393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-26DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00453-4
Jonas Hallström, Per Norström, Konrad J. Schönborn
Abstract Background The literature asserts that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education needs to be authentic. Although models and modelling provide a basis from which to increase authenticity by bridging the STEM disciplines, the idea of authentic STEM education remains challenging to define. In response, the aim of this study is to identify consensus on significant elements of authentic STEM education through models and modelling. Views were gathered anonymously over three rounds of questions with an expert panel. Responses were subjected to a multimethod analysis that pursued identification, consensus, and stability in the panel’s revealed propositions and themes around authentic STEM education through modelling. Results The panel reached high consensus concerning the potential of STEM education to support learning across traditional subject borders through authentic problem solving. The panel also consented that modelling is indispensable for achieving real-world relevance in STEM education, and that model-based integrated STEM education approaches provide opportunities for authentic problem solving. Furthermore, results showed that integrating individual STEM subjects during teaching, in terms of including disciplinary knowledge and skills, requires specialised competence. Here, technology and engineering subjects tended to implicitly underpin communicated teaching activities aimed at STEM integration. Conclusions and implications The panellists stress that STEM disciplines should be taught collaboratively at the same time as they are not in favour of STEM as a subject of its own but rather as a cooperation that maintains the integrity of each individual subject. Many respondents mentioned integrated STEM projects that included modelling and engineering design, although they were not specifically labelled as engineering projects. Thus, real-world STEM education scenarios are often viewed as being primarily technology and engineering based. The panel responses also implicate a need for multiple definitions of authenticity for different educational levels because a great deal of uncertainty surrounding authenticity seems to originate from the concept implying different meanings for different STEM audiences. These international Delphi findings can potentially inform integrated STEM classroom interventions, teacher education development, educational resource and curriculum design.
{"title":"Authentic STEM education through modelling: an international Delphi study","authors":"Jonas Hallström, Per Norström, Konrad J. Schönborn","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00453-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00453-4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background The literature asserts that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education needs to be authentic. Although models and modelling provide a basis from which to increase authenticity by bridging the STEM disciplines, the idea of authentic STEM education remains challenging to define. In response, the aim of this study is to identify consensus on significant elements of authentic STEM education through models and modelling. Views were gathered anonymously over three rounds of questions with an expert panel. Responses were subjected to a multimethod analysis that pursued identification, consensus, and stability in the panel’s revealed propositions and themes around authentic STEM education through modelling. Results The panel reached high consensus concerning the potential of STEM education to support learning across traditional subject borders through authentic problem solving. The panel also consented that modelling is indispensable for achieving real-world relevance in STEM education, and that model-based integrated STEM education approaches provide opportunities for authentic problem solving. Furthermore, results showed that integrating individual STEM subjects during teaching, in terms of including disciplinary knowledge and skills, requires specialised competence. Here, technology and engineering subjects tended to implicitly underpin communicated teaching activities aimed at STEM integration. Conclusions and implications The panellists stress that STEM disciplines should be taught collaboratively at the same time as they are not in favour of STEM as a subject of its own but rather as a cooperation that maintains the integrity of each individual subject. Many respondents mentioned integrated STEM projects that included modelling and engineering design, although they were not specifically labelled as engineering projects. Thus, real-world STEM education scenarios are often viewed as being primarily technology and engineering based. The panel responses also implicate a need for multiple definitions of authenticity for different educational levels because a great deal of uncertainty surrounding authenticity seems to originate from the concept implying different meanings for different STEM audiences. These international Delphi findings can potentially inform integrated STEM classroom interventions, teacher education development, educational resource and curriculum design.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134910381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-20DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00454-3
Joonhyeong Park, Tang Wee Teo, Arnold Teo, Jina Chang, Jun Song Huang, Sengmeng Koo
Abstract Background In the midst of digital transformation, schools are transforming their classrooms as they prepare students for a world increasingly automated by new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). During curricular implementation, it has not made sense to teachers to teach AI as a stand-alone subject as it is not a traditional discipline in schools. As such, subject matter teachers may need to take on the responsibility of integrating AI content into discipline-based lessons to help students make connections and see its relevance rather than present AI as separate content. This paper reports on a study that piloted a new lesson package in science classrooms to introduce students to the idea of AI. Specifically, the AI-integrated science lesson package, designed by the research team, provided an extended activity that used the same context as an existing lesson activity. Three science teachers from different schools piloted the lesson package with small groups of students and provided feedback on the materials and implementation. Findings The findings revealed the teachers’ perceptions of integrating AI into science lessons in terms of the connection between AI and science, challenges when implementing the AI lesson package and recommendations on improvements. First, the teachers perceived that AI and science have similarities in developing accurate models with quality data and using simplified reasoning, while they thought that AI and science play complementary roles when solving scientific problems. Second, the teachers thought that the biggest challenge in implementing the lesson package was a lack of confidence in content mastery, while the package would be challenging to get buy-in from teachers regarding curriculum adaptation and targeting the appropriate audience. Considering these challenges, they recommended that comprehensive AI resources be provided to teachers, while this package can be employed for science enrichment programs after-school. Conclusions The study has implications for curriculum writers who design lesson packages that introduce AI in science classrooms and for science teachers who wish to contribute to the development of AI literacy for teachers and the extension of the range of school science and STEM to students.
{"title":"Integrating artificial intelligence into science lessons: teachers’ experiences and views","authors":"Joonhyeong Park, Tang Wee Teo, Arnold Teo, Jina Chang, Jun Song Huang, Sengmeng Koo","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00454-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00454-3","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background In the midst of digital transformation, schools are transforming their classrooms as they prepare students for a world increasingly automated by new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). During curricular implementation, it has not made sense to teachers to teach AI as a stand-alone subject as it is not a traditional discipline in schools. As such, subject matter teachers may need to take on the responsibility of integrating AI content into discipline-based lessons to help students make connections and see its relevance rather than present AI as separate content. This paper reports on a study that piloted a new lesson package in science classrooms to introduce students to the idea of AI. Specifically, the AI-integrated science lesson package, designed by the research team, provided an extended activity that used the same context as an existing lesson activity. Three science teachers from different schools piloted the lesson package with small groups of students and provided feedback on the materials and implementation. Findings The findings revealed the teachers’ perceptions of integrating AI into science lessons in terms of the connection between AI and science, challenges when implementing the AI lesson package and recommendations on improvements. First, the teachers perceived that AI and science have similarities in developing accurate models with quality data and using simplified reasoning, while they thought that AI and science play complementary roles when solving scientific problems. Second, the teachers thought that the biggest challenge in implementing the lesson package was a lack of confidence in content mastery, while the package would be challenging to get buy-in from teachers regarding curriculum adaptation and targeting the appropriate audience. Considering these challenges, they recommended that comprehensive AI resources be provided to teachers, while this package can be employed for science enrichment programs after-school. Conclusions The study has implications for curriculum writers who design lesson packages that introduce AI in science classrooms and for science teachers who wish to contribute to the development of AI literacy for teachers and the extension of the range of school science and STEM to students.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135569279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-10DOI: 10.1186/s40594-023-00438-3
Laila El-Hamamsy, Barbara Bruno, Catherine Audrin, Morgane Chevalier, Sunny Avry, Jessica Dehler Zufferey, Francesco Mondada
Abstract Background Early exposure to Computer Science (CS) and Computational Thinking (CT) for all is critical to broaden participation and promote equity in the field. But how does the introduction of CS and CT into primary school curricula impact learning, perception, and gaps between groups of students? Methodology We investigate a CS-curricular reform and teacher Professional Development (PD) programme from an equity standpoint by applying hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling on student learning and perception data from three studies with, respectively, 1384, 2433 and 1644 grade 3–6 students (ages 7–11) and their 83, 142 and 95 teachers. Results Regarding learning, exposure to CS instruction appears to contribute to closing the performance gap between low-achieving and high-achieving students, as well as pre-existing gender gaps. Despite a lack of direct influence of what was taught on student learning, there is no impact of teachers’ demographics or motivation on student learning, with teachers’ perception of the CS-PD positively influencing learning. Regarding perception, students perceive CS and its teaching tools (robotics, tablets) positively, and even more so when they perceive a role model close to them as doing CS. Nonetheless, gender differences exist all around with boys perceiving CS more positively than girls despite access to CS education. However, access to CS-education affects boys and girls differently: larger gender gaps are closing (namely those related to robotics), while smaller gaps are increasing (namely those related to CS and tablets). Conclusion This article highlights how a CS curricular reform impacts learning, perception, and equity and supports the importance of (i) early introductions to CS for all; (ii) preparing teachers to teach CS all the while removing the influence of teacher demographics and motivation on student outcomes; and (iii) having developmentally appropriate activities that signal to all groups of students.
{"title":"How are primary school computer science curricular reforms contributing to equity? Impact on student learning, perception of the discipline, and gender gaps","authors":"Laila El-Hamamsy, Barbara Bruno, Catherine Audrin, Morgane Chevalier, Sunny Avry, Jessica Dehler Zufferey, Francesco Mondada","doi":"10.1186/s40594-023-00438-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-023-00438-3","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Early exposure to Computer Science (CS) and Computational Thinking (CT) for all is critical to broaden participation and promote equity in the field. But how does the introduction of CS and CT into primary school curricula impact learning, perception, and gaps between groups of students? Methodology We investigate a CS-curricular reform and teacher Professional Development (PD) programme from an equity standpoint by applying hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling on student learning and perception data from three studies with, respectively, 1384, 2433 and 1644 grade 3–6 students (ages 7–11) and their 83, 142 and 95 teachers. Results Regarding learning, exposure to CS instruction appears to contribute to closing the performance gap between low-achieving and high-achieving students, as well as pre-existing gender gaps. Despite a lack of direct influence of what was taught on student learning, there is no impact of teachers’ demographics or motivation on student learning, with teachers’ perception of the CS-PD positively influencing learning. Regarding perception, students perceive CS and its teaching tools (robotics, tablets) positively, and even more so when they perceive a role model close to them as doing CS. Nonetheless, gender differences exist all around with boys perceiving CS more positively than girls despite access to CS education. However, access to CS-education affects boys and girls differently: larger gender gaps are closing (namely those related to robotics), while smaller gaps are increasing (namely those related to CS and tablets). Conclusion This article highlights how a CS curricular reform impacts learning, perception, and equity and supports the importance of (i) early introductions to CS for all; (ii) preparing teachers to teach CS all the while removing the influence of teacher demographics and motivation on student outcomes; and (iii) having developmentally appropriate activities that signal to all groups of students.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136254305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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