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Contributors are: Nur Fatma Aktas, Tasos Barkatsas, Zahra Cooper, Yüksel Dede, Jason Dervish, Melanie Evangelista, Janine Forbes-Rolfe, Wendy Goff, Gürcan Kaya, Gillian Kidman, Yuk-Yuen Law, Timothy Lynch, Marta Martín-del-Pozo, Juanjo Mena, Rowan Nas, Antonio Patrocinio-Braz, Hazel Tan, and Bin Wu.
Contributors are: Nur Fatma Aktas, Tasos Barkatsas, Zahra Cooper, Yüksel Dede, Jason Dervish, Melanie Evangelista, Janine Forbes-Rolfe, Wendy Goff, Gürcan Kaya, Gillian Kidman, Yuk-Yuen Law, Timothy Lynch, Marta Martín-del-Pozo, Juanjo Mena, Rowan Nas, Antonio Patrocinio-Braz, Hazel Tan, and Bin Wu.
Abstract
This article presents findings from the document analysis of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lesson plans written and enacted in Southeast Asian classrooms aimed at providing integrative learning experiences for students. The authors argue that the culture of STEM education is embodied in teacher-designed STEM lesson plans or cultural apparatuses. The authors applied Sewell’s theory of culture to unpack the cultural embodiments (physical and abstract elements) embedded in six STEM lesson plans comprising lesson schedules, worksheets, and handouts. The findings showed that certain categories of culture were more evident in specific components of a STEM lesson package. The article contributes to the relatively nascent literature that, to date, has not closely examined teacher-designed integrated STEM curricula using a cultural lens. The study also has implications for STEM teachers to consider making cultural embodiments and practices more visible during their lesson planning and framing of STEM curriculum.
Abstract
Despite the increasing attention for STEM, a gap of knowledge still exists concerning: a) the views of teachers coming from S-T-E-M backgrounds on integrated STEM education, b) the ways teachers conceptualise STEM, and c) collaboration trends between S-T-E-M experts. In attempting to address this gap, the authors aimed to respond to these questions in the context of a STEM professional development programme in Europe, where 26 in-service teachers were divided into four learning communities and engaged in developing STEM teaching materials. Data were collected through individual interviews which were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Teachers’ views were explored using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, whereas teachers’ justifications on integration models were analysed for the purpose of examining their conceptualisations on integration. Collaboration trends were derived from teachers’ collaboration preferences. Teachers considered that there are systemic factors impeding the implementation of STEM, while teachers emphasised the engineering design cycle, content integration and real-world relevance in their integration models. Collaboration trends highlighted technological expertise as well as having prior STEM experience. Drawn from these findings, the authors offer a set of recommendations about the development of cross-disciplinary collaboration groups in order to help overcome disciplinary barriers.
Abstract
To better understand integrated STEM education, this work explored scores on the STEM Observation Protocol (STEM-OP), a newly developed observation protocol for use in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. The goals of this work were to better understand how integrated STEM might look throughout an integrated STEM unit and identify limitations of the instrument when examining daily scores and full unit implementation scores. The work takes a mixed methods approach to first examine what scores may be typically seen with daily and unit implementations. After identifying an exemplar integrated curriculum unit with consistently high daily scores, the authors qualitatively explore the fluctuations in protocol scores over the course of a curriculum unit implementation. Our work reveals that some items on the protocol may vary throughout implementation, while also demonstrating that achieving the highest scores on all items during one lesson or even throughout a full curriculum unit is challenging.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to describe the development and validation process of a Scale of Competency of Digital Age Teaching (SCoDAT). The scale is intended to diagnose preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in integrating digital technologies in lesson planning, implementation, and reflection. Initial competency items were created based on literature review and prior qualitative inquiry, and were reviewed by a group of experts consisting of general and content- specific teacher education faculty members. After multiple rounds of expert reviews, a total of 21 items were developed, composed of 4 areas: lesson planning, lesson actions, student assessment, and lesson reflection. After Cronbach’s alpha and G6 values were examined for internal consistency, a second-order, four-factor Confirmatory Factor Analysis (cfa) model was fitted and evaluated with chi-square goodness-of-fit statistics and fit indices. Overall, the scale and its subscales demonstrate good internal consistency and construct validity. The SCoDAT could serve as both a formative and summative assessment for teacher educators and as a self-assessment for preservice teachers, enabling them to diagnose their professional competence in digitally equipped classrooms.
Abstract
Science education is crucial for fostering knowledge across academic disciplines. Past efforts to enhance science achievement at the elementary level have explored various instructional strategies. Among these, the Understanding by Design (UbD) model has shown notable potential in improving science achievement outcomes compared to traditional methods. This quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of the UbD model on the science achievement of fifth-grade students in Pakistan. Using a pretest-posttest design, students were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. The academic achievement science test (AAST) was administered to measure outcomes. Data analysis, incorporating independent sample t-tests and mixed between-within subject ANOVA, indicated that the UbD model significantly improved science achievement over conventional teaching methods. These findings underscore the effectiveness of UbD in science education and highlight the importance of innovative pedagogical strategies for promoting academic success among elementary students. Implications and future research directions are suggested.
Contemporary Approaches to Research in Learning Innovations explores approaches to research in learning innovations from the learning sciences view. Learning sciences is an interdisciplinary field that draws on multiple theoretical perspectives and research with the goal of advancing knowledge about how people learn. The field includes cognitive science, educational psychology, anthropology, computer and information science and explore pedagogical, technological, sociological and psychological aspects of human learning. Research in this approaches examine the social, organizational and cultural dynamics of learning environments, construct scientific models of cognitive development, and conduct design-based experiments.
Contemporary Approaches to Research in Learning Innovations covers research in developed and developing countries and scalable projects which will benefit everyday learning and universal education. Recent research includes improving social presence and interaction in collaborative learning, using epistemic games to foster new learning, and pedagogy and praxis of ICT integration in school curricula.