Successful Students-STEM Program: Teacher learning through a multi-faceted vision for STEM education

Author(s):

Linda Hobbs(presenting / submitting)John Cripps Clark Barry Plant

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 11 A, Perspectives on Teacher Learning

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-25

17:15-18:45

Room:

OB-Theatre F

Chair:

David Morris

Contribution

While Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are disciplines in their own right, their synergies championed under the “STEM” banner are igniting a flurry of political and industry discussion, and this raises significant implications for education. The current STEM education agenda is driven by the belief that STEM skills are crucial to innovation and development in our contemporary technological, knowledge-based, competitive global economy (Office of the Chief Scientist 2014a). Because STEM is being positioned so centrally to a country’s competitiveness, it is influencing funding in industry, education and research. To some extent a utilitarian conceptualisation of education, while not new, is promoted through this drive to prepare students for a STEM-dominated future in which three-quarters of jobs are forecast to need STEM skills and capabilities (Office of the Chief Scientist 2014a).

In Australia, concerns have been voiced about both performance and participation of students in STEM related subjects through all sectors, and whether they are fully prepared for the modern workplace (Australian Industry Group, 2013). In international comparisons over the last decade, Australian school students performed better than the OECD average, but achievement in science is stagnating and declining in mathematics (Thompson et al., 2012). Since 1992, many STEM related subjects at senior secondary level show declines in participation, particularly in more demanding subjects (Office of the Chief Scientist 2014b). State and federal education authorities have reacted by initiating a range of policy changes culminating in the National STEM School Education Strategy (Education Council 2015) that aims to: raise student STEM participation and achievement through increasing student aspirations; improve teacher capacity and quality; support opportunities within school systems; create partnerships with tertiary providers, business and industry; and build an evidence base. These aims resonate with initiatives in other parts of the world, such as within the European Community where attempts have been made to raise student STEM awareness, establish industry and school links, and build up STEM teaching skills (Scientix 2014).

The challenge for educators is to translate an ill-defined, politically charged and narrowly utilitarian policy agenda of securing a future workforce, into a valid and coherent curriculum. The objective of this paper is to articulate a comprehensive, multi-faceted and coherent STEM vision that addresses the subtle and complex challenge of preparing “twenty-first century” citizens within the constraints of a traditional school system and curriculum. For STEM education to be incorporated effectively and sustainably in schools, a STEM vision needs to be more than discrete STEM-related activities slotted into an already bulging curriculum: what is needed is a vision that is inclusive and interdisciplinary.

In this paper, we report on insights from a teacher professional development program, Successful Students-STEM Program, operating in ten schools in regional Victorian city, Australia, designed to develop year 7 and 8 Science, Technology and Mathematics teachers’ capacity to teach STEM.

This paper explores the question: How can a multi-faceted vision of STEM education in a teacher professional learning program sustainably and effectively meet the specific needs of schools?

Method

A case study methodology (Yin, 2014) was employed bounded by the professional development program over the three years of the project (2015-2017). Evaluative data will be collected throughout the three years as student and teacher surveys, interviews with teachers and student focus groups, curriculum documents, reports from teachers, teaching documents and observations. The Successful Students-STEM Program includes: 1. Teams of three teachers from each of ten schools undertake intensive and on-going professional development (PD) for three years. The intensive PD comprises three intensive professional development sequences each with a different focus: (1) (2) Pedagogies and contemporary STEM practices, (3) Up-scaling and leading change, and Sustainability. Teaching teams are required to undertake a “teaching project” where they design, implement and evaluate a teaching sequence that reflects STEM practices and components of effective STEM teaching. The ongoing PD involves teacher support from a project officer and Deakin University academics; 2. Tertiary student ambassadors work with teachers in schools to engage school students’ aspirations to STEM study and careers; 3. Industry engagement with specific industries targeted to each school’s needs; and 4. A STEM Teacher Network catering for program teacher and other teachers in the region meets twice quarterly. Data from the first year of this three-year program is used to illustrate the variety of classroom activities that can arise from a comprehensive STEM vision. Data includes: • case description of the professional development program; • teacher reports on projects from Sequence 1 and 2; • student evaluation questionnaires from the first year; • teacher self-assessment using a component mapping tool (Tytler & Waldrip, 2001); • observations, correspondence and program documentation. The program is longitudinal and responsive to the developing needs of the teachers involved. The process of developing the STEM vision has therefore been iterative and developed through a process of crystallisation (Ellingson, 2009) where the experiences of the researchers/teacher educators build a deeper understanding as the program develops of what STEM education is, how it can be effectively implemented in schools and how teachers need to be supported. For example, the component mapping was used for teachers to interrogate components of their teaching in which support was needed and for resources to be deployed. This iterative process enabled us to draw together different elements of the program so as to identify the key facets of a STEM vision that informs a framework for school decision-making.

Expected Outcomes

Our multi-faceted vision for STEM education is underpinned by the following: 1. CONCEPTUALISATION: STEM education is conceptualised as inclusive and interdisciplinary: STEM education unites the four disciplines through their commitment to solving practical problems pertinent to individual and societal needs; 2. TEACHER LEARNING: A professional learning program is both intensive and ongoing, and supported by an expanded teacher network: The professional learning builds on the teachers’ and schools’ knowledge and skills and responds to their developing needs. 3. STEM PRACTICES: A common set of STEM practices underpin planning and pedagogy: These practices are transformed by their practise in each discipline, and include: engaging in a technical discipline discourse; using tools, models and ideas adaptably; engaging in flexible reasoning; and understanding and using evidence in a variety of settings; 4. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: Curriculum is locally developed using multiple models of discipline integration and teacher collaboration: Teaching teams employ a diversity of collaboration and integration strategies, and reflect the priorities and cultures of each school; and 5. COMMUNITY/INDUSTRY ENGAEMENT: Community and industry are engaged to support and provide meaningful contexts, authenticity and depth to the teaching programs: While schools often develop their own industry links, a “boundary spanner” who can negotiate the needs of both partners increases the potential for educative benefits for school and mutuality and reciprocity among the various partners. An analysis of the teachers’ evaluation of their involvement after the first year highlights the value of a program that provides a diversity of approaches and practices united in a clear vision for STEM education. This STEM vision provides a powerful framework to enable educators to engage effectively with a fast-moving STEM agenda. Ongoing challenges facing the program will be identified, in particular, assessment practices and a progression of STEM learning will be the focus in 2016.

References

Australian Industry Group (2013), Lifting our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Skills. Australian Industry Group, viewed 28 September 2015, http://www.aigroup.com.au/policy/reports/archive2013 Education Council. (2015) National STEM School Education Strategy: A comprehensive plan for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in Australia. Canberra: Council of Australian Governments Ellingson, L.L. (2009). Engaging crystallization in qualitative research: An introduction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Office of the Chief Scientist (2014a), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future. Australian Government, Canberra, viewed 22 September 2015, http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2014/09/professor-chubb-releases-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-australias-future/ Office of the Chief Scientist (2014b), Benchmarking Australian Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Australian Government, Canberra, viewed 22 September 2015, http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2014/12/benchmarking-australian-science-technology-engineering-mathematics/ Scientix (2014), Scientix. The Community for science education in Europe, European Schoolnet: Brussels, viewed 13 October 2015, http://www.scientix.eu/web/guest/about Thomson, S., Hillman, K., Wernert, N., Schmid, M., Buckley, S., & Munene, A. (2012). Highlights from TIMSS & PIRLS 2011 from Australia’s perspective. Melbourne: ACER Tytler, R. & Waldrip, B. (2001). Effective teaching and learning in Science: Expanding the territory. Position Statement 4; Working Paper of the Science in Schools Research Project. Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Author Information

Linda Hobbs (presenting / submitting)

Deakin University

School of Education

Geelong

John Cripps Clark

Deakin University

School of Education

Melbourne

Barry Plant

Deakin University, Australia

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