ERIC Number: EJ1442644
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2167-8693
Teacher Outcomes of an Intensive STEM-Focused Professional Learning Initiative: An Examination of Their Beliefs, Practices, and Perceptions
Elizabeth L. Adams; Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller; C. Taylor Cox; Karen Pierce
Journal of Educational Research and Practice, v14 n1 p245-262 2024
The purpose of this paper is to describe teacher outcomes from participating in an intensive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional learning (PL) initiative for middle school science teachers in the United States. The initiative included intensive summer coursework and ongoing support (e.g., individual coaching, professional learning communities), and focused on enhancing teachers' STEM instruction and their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes. In this mixed method study, we examine change across time in teachers' beliefs, use of STEM instruction, and PCK. In general, we did not observe statistically significant change in teachers' beliefs, use of STEM instruction, or PCK from the beginning to the end of Year 1. In follow-up focus groups, ten teachers described their perceptions of student outcomes of STEM instruction and identified tensions related to implementation. We offer implications intended to inform future work in the area of STEM PL.
Descriptors: STEM Education, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Beliefs, Teaching Methods, Middle School Teachers, Science Teachers, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Outcomes of Education, Summer Programs, Barriers, Coaching (Performance), Instructional Improvement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A