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PAPER PIONEERING STEM EDUCATION FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS Pioneering STEM Education for Pre-Service Teachers https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v6i4.5965 Armando Paulino Preciado Babb, Miwa Aoki Takeuchi, Gabriela Alnoso Yáñez, Krista Francis, Dianne Gereluk, Sharon Friesen University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Abstract—While there have been numerous initiatives to targeted school teachers and comprised four components: promote and recruit students into postsecondary studies in conceptual knowledge; design process; systematic docu- science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) mentation; and independent reflective learning. Programs around the world, traditional programs of studies for both for teacher professional learning involving similar com- K to 12 school and teacher education still lack an integrative ponents have engaged teachers in co-designing science approach to these disciplines. Addressing this concern, the projects based on the engineering design process. One Werklund School of Education of the University of Calgary example of this is a thermodynamics project for high started to offer a course in STEM education for the under- school reported in [5], where the authors proposed that graduate Bachelor of Education program. The purpose of teachers should be educated to conduct this type of project this article is to document the first iterations of this course. as part of their professional learning. We draw from narratives of four instructors, including the Although the examples of outreach initiatives and pro- coordinator of the course, and administrators who were grams described above have the potential of impacting on actively involved in creation and approval of the course. We many students, we know little about possibilities and chal- describe the course and its connection to the philosophy of the program, examine the context in which this course was lenges to make STEM education an integral part of teach- conceived—including both national and provincial policy— er preparation at the university level. This topic is under- and address some challenges and possibilities experienced explored because STEM education courses have not been by administrators, instructors and students during the crea- part of traditional pre-service teacher education. In the fall tion and implementation of the course. of 2014 the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary pioneered a mandatory STEM Index Terms—STEM education; teacher education; curricu- course for all undergraduate students in the Bachelor of lum; soft skills. Education Program. National policy on STEM as well as regulations and directions on education at the provincial I. INTRODUCTION level were key factors in the creation of the course. Addi- tionally, the integrative approach to STEM and the philos- The interest in attracting students into science, technol- ophy behind the pre-service education program were high- ogy, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) postsecond- ly compatible. Yet, there were several challenges faced by ary studies permeates through academic journals and in- administrators, instructors and students in the implementa- ternational conferences. This interest has been evident in tion of the course. In this article we extend from a presen- recent and diverse interventions and outreach programs tation at the EDUCON conference ([6]) discussing possi- around the world. Some programs, for instance, have bilities and constraints in implementing this STEM educa- addressed the issue of stereotyped perceptions of the work tion course from the collective narratives of the authors. of engineering, which could impact students’ decisions to These narratives can inform other academics and leaders pursue STEM careers, such as the intervention described who are interested in the design of STEM education pro- in [1] that involved 565 students from Kindergarten to grams for future teachers. Grade 12. By presenting computer-based multimedia, this intervention showed that perceptions toward the work of The authors of this article were four instructors— engineering could be changed—especially among students including the course coordinator—the associate dean of in the early grades. Other outreach initiatives have in- the undergraduate program, and the vice dean of WSE. volved students in engineering-like activities, such as the We documented diverse perspectives unique to the roles summer camp organized by six European institutions that each of us played in the design and implementation of reported in [2]. The camp focused on team-oriented activi- the STEM education course. The administrators provided ties; a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach; prob- accounts of the creation of this new course in terms of lem-based learning; an intensive schedule; and contact provincial policy and tensions within faculty members. with and feedback from experts. Various partnerships They also commented on perceptions from students who between elementary and secondary schools and other participated in focus group conversation during the im- institutions have been implemented also as outreach pro- plementation of the course. The coordinator and the in- grams, as documented in [3]. These partnerships involved structors described some of the challenges and possibili- institutions such as provincial government, community ties of the collaborative work required to teach the course industry, small business, and global industries. Other and also provided some anecdotal evidences of students’ interventions have focused on teachers, such as the tech- experiences from their classrooms. nological projects for high school described in [4] that 4 http://www.i-jep.org PAPER PIONEERING STEM EDUCATION FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS This article is organized as follows. We start by de- study concluded indicating that there was little evidence scribing STEM education in the Canadian context and that STEM education existed in the involved schools. In a defining its integrative approach. Then, we provide a different study involving 220 faculty members at institu- description of the Bachelor of Education program and the tions of higher education, reported in [14], authors found STEM Education course, with a rationale for its assign- that even within faculty members involved in STEM edu- ments and assessment. Subsequently, we discuss chal- cation, there was no operational definition or consistent lenges and possibilities we experienced in creation and conceptualization of STEM education. They also found implementation of the course. This article concludes with that faculty members with a negative perception on STEM some implications for teacher education and difficulties in education considered that STEM was encroaching their researching the impact of this course. funding and importance within the university. We situate the perspective adopted in the course de- II. STEM EDUCATION IN THE CANADIAN CONTEXT scribed in this article by drawing from the integrative Canada is not unique in promoting STEM education in approach to STEM education. While different authors recent years. However, the motivations and goals driving have proposed different classifications for the approaches the discourse in this emergent field differ from one coun- to STEM education, there is a consistency in one particu- try to another. A review of eight international journals in lar approach that combines STEM in a way that trans- 2012 found that the majority of research in STEM educa- cends individual disciplines. Bybee, for instance, de- tion was conducted in the United States [7]. The motiva- scribed five approaches to STEM education in [8]: tion in the United States has risen in eminence since the Coordinate - Two subjects taught in separate courses Sputnik-spurred education reforms during the 1960s ([8], are coordinated so content in one subject synchronizes [9]), which focused on science and mathematics. This with what is needed in another subject. focus is reflected in the current goals and plans that the Complete - While teaching the main content of one sub- US Department of Education published in its website. In ject, the content of another subject is introduced to com- February 2016 this website indicated that “few American plement the primary subject. students pursue expertise in STEM fields—and we have an inadequate pipeline of teachers skilled in those sub- Correlate - Two subjects with similar themes, contents, jects. That’s why President Obama has set a priority of or processes are taught so students understand their simi- increasing the number of students and teachers who are larities and differences. proficient in these vital fields” [10]. In the website it is Connections - Use one discipline to connect other dis- clear that STEM education is situated in relation to low ciplines, such as using technology as the connection be- academic scores in mathematics and science in interna- tween science and mathematics tional high-stakes testing. The goal remains focused on Combine - This approach combines two or more STEM mathematics and science: “move from the middle to the disciplines using projects, themes, procedures, or other top of the pack in science and math.” organizing foci. In contrast, the Canadian discourse around STEM edu- These approaches are similar to the levels of STEM in- cation is not necessarily situated in the performance in tegration described by Vasquez, Sneider and Comer, who international tests. Canadian students have historically proposed, in [15], four levels of
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