Elementary School Teachers' Beliefs about the Role of Technology in 21st-Century Teaching and Learning

Technological advancements have led to changes in the expectations placed on K-12 teachers. Teachers are now expected to better equip students with 21st-century skills, making it important to understand teachers' beliefs about the role of technology in teaching and learning and the skills their students need to be successful. Using a qualitative approach, the current study explores these beliefs among a group of urban elementary school teachers in the southeastern United States. Results suggest that, although teachers see the value of technology for teaching and learning, they require more guidance on what constitutes 21st-century skills and how to effectively integrate technology.     

Public dialogue with science and development for teachers of STEM: linking public dialogue with pedagogic praxis

Abstract

Despite evidence of quality teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subject domains and insistence on the part of many national governments on the economic value of STEM, education, recruitment and retention into STEM subject fields and occupations is said to be continually blighted by a ‘leaky pipeline’. In the UK context, schools are seen to benefit from a multitude of external STEM engagement and enrichment providers and initiatives. However, despite evidence of the positive impacts of STEM engagement on learners, there exists a dearth of understanding related to how principles of STEM engagement can facilitate STEM teachers in becoming more pedagogically innovative and relevant and, therefore, engaging of their learners in the classroom context. In this article, we employ a secondary data analysis of two prominent cases of public engagement in science and technology (PEST) in the UK to elicit combined lessons for STEM engagement and the pedagogical development of teachers. We consider the successes of science dialogue in establishing principles of best practice that might be transposed to the development of teachers as more able and effective in the engagement of learners in STEM.     

STEM Is Elementary: Challenges Faced by Elementary Teachers in the Era of the Next Generation Science Standards

For students to achieve the goals of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by Grade 12, thinking and acting like scientists and engineers must begin in the elementary grades. However, elementary teachers may find this challenging -because language arts and mathematics still dominate many classrooms—often at the expense of science. This essay examines the science skills elementary students are expected to learn and how teachers and administrators can approach the increased demands of NGSS.     

Reinforcing the STEM pipeline in vocational-technical high schools: The effect of female teachers

Although secondary Vocational-Technical Education (VTE) is highly prevalent in low-income settings in the developing world, this sector remains understudied in the Economics of Education literature. Situated in the Chilean context, this study examines the effect of exposure to a female VTE teacher on STEM pipeline persistence from secondary to post-secondary level. We find that having at least one female teacher in secondary STEM-VTE programs increases overall enrollment in STEM higher education programs by 2.1 percentage points, primarily driven by women choosing postsecondary VTE diplomas in STEM fields. The effect of female VTE teachers in enrollment in these diplomas reaches 4.0 percentage points, equivalent to an 18% reduction in the observed gender gap. We argue that female VTE teachers, acting as role models, have the potential to mitigate the traditional barriers that young women encounter to persist in the STEM pipeline, thereby contributing to closing the STEM gender gap.     

Fostering creative engineers: a key to face the complexity of engineering practice

Recent studies have argued a shift of thinking about engineering practice from a linear conception to a system understanding. The complexity of engineering practice has been thought of as the root of challenges for engineers. Moreover, creativity has been emphasised as one key capability that engineering students should master. This paper aims to illustrate deeply why engineering education needs to foster creative students to face the challenges of complex engineering work. So a literature review will be provided by focusing on the necessity of developing creativity in engineering education. As the literature demonstrates, this paper reveals the understanding of complexity in engineering practice and the roles of creativity in engineering practice. In addition, the barriers to creativity in current engineering education and some implications of pedagogic strategies will be discussed. So this paper contributes to rethinking the engineering profession in a social context and a link between creativity research and engineering education.     

Creating a continuum of STEM models: Exploring how K-12 science teachers conceptualize STEM education

ABSTRACT

As more and more science teachers in the United States are now expected to implement STEM education in their classrooms, it is important to understand how teachers conceptualise STEM education. This information can then be used to provide teachers with meaningful support as they move towards implementation of STEM education. Understanding that not all representations of STEM are equal, this mixed-methods study used a phenomenographic lens to examine science teachers’ perceptions of eight different models of STEM education through photo elicitation interviews. Part of this was done though an activity in which teachers ranked different models of STEM education by arranging them in a continuum. Findings reveal that teachers are most drawn to models of STEM education that show STEM beyond school settings and that include clear intersections between the disciplines represented in the acronym. This study sheds light on the importance of creating a shared conception of STEM education in order to have productive conversations across various stakeholders within the STEM education community.     

Sparking the imagination: creative experts working collaboratively with children,teachers and parents to enhance educational opportunities

This article suggests that child poverty and unequal educational opportunity are inextricably linked. It is argued that even from an early age children from poorer backgrounds are disadvantaged in terms of their preparedness to thrive in the formal school environment. Educational achievement is strongly influenced by attitudes and much research suggests that children from less advantaged backgrounds feel less in control at school and lack confidence in performing traditional school tasks. The ‘Sparking the Imagination’ project set out to try on a small scale to co‐ordinate efforts in raising educational opportunity for children from disadvantaged backgrounds by focusing on the context in which teaching and learning takes place. It was also deemed necessary to introduce measures to raise the motivation and aspirations of all involved and this was achieved through the engagement of children, teachers, parents and creative experts in collaborative learning within the classroom.     

Teaching history,teaching nationalism: a qualitative study of history teachers in a Polish post-industrial town

This paper aims to analyse Polish history teachers’ perceptions of the role of historical education in the context of nationalism, class and locality. Drawing on the results of qualitative research conducted in the post-industrial and post-German city of Wa?brzych in Poland, we argue that teachers are not fully aware of the role of nationalist politics in representations of the past. Teachers regard these nationalist representations as natural and taken for granted. They are not only unable to assume responsibility for promoting nationalism among students but also reproduce a dominant nationalist discourse by using history to nurture their students’ attachment to the idea of a homogeneous and solidary nation that transcends class divisions and erases local specificity. They see their role primarily in terms of reinforcing the dominant structures of collective memory in their pupils.     

Examining the relationships among academic self-concept,instrumental motivation,and TIMSS 2007 science scores: a cross-cultural comparison of five East Asian countries/regions and the United States

Many American authors expressed their concern that US competitiveness in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is losing ground. Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 data, this study investigated how academic self-concept and instrumental motivation influence science test performance among East Asian and American students. Jackknife regression modelling indicated that in East Asia science competency is not tied to enjoying science or estimated ability while in the US both variables are negatively correlated with performance. Additionally, the test performance of the East Asian students does not seem to be boosted by the perception of the role of science in career advancement, but this perception could significantly predict the test performance of their American counterparts. It is the conviction of the author that these findings related to student-level factors could lead to practical implications for educational policies and pedagogical strategies, such as placing emphasis on daily applications of science.     

Dissecting the teacher monolith: Experiences of beginning basic school teachers in Zambia

This article explores the multifaceted experiences of beginning basic school teachers in Southern Province, Zambia, through a qualitative study comprised of interviews with 35 basic school teachers. Our research examines the uniqueness of beginning teacher experiences in the global South, and points to the need to recognize the implications of ‘Education for All’ for this particular sub-group of the teaching population. We found that these teachers faced significant personal and professional difficulties, while receiving little support. Nevertheless, teachers expressed a commitment to the profession. Recommendations are provided to suggest improvements to the transition and socialization process for future beginning teachers.     

Teacher creativity within the current education system: a case study of the perceptions of primary teachers

This article reports on a case study that examined the views of primary teachers in one school about their ability to be creative practitioners within the current education system. This research was conducted following the recent emphasis that teacher creativity has been given in government debate. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 10 members of teaching staff. The main findings presented suggest that the pressures of the curriculum, and the targets and objectives laid down within it, severely restrict and constrain the creative practices that the teachers in this school feel able and willing to engage in. Perceptions of the relevance and value of teacher creativity are also discussed.     

Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the Future

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an innovative approach to learning that teaches a multitude of strategies critical for success in the twenty-first century. Students drive their own learning through inquiry, as well as work collaboratively to research and create projects that reflect their knowledge. From gleaning new, viable technology skills, to becoming proficient communicators and advanced problem solvers, students benefit from this approach to instruction.     

Early career mathematics teachers: Concepts,methods, and strategies for comparative international research

In this article, we report on the challenges entailed in the development of concepts, methods, and strategies for designing and implementing a cross-national research study of the first-years of school-mathematics teaching, including an exploration of how beginning mathematics teachers differ in their preparation, knowledge for teaching, teaching practice, working conditions, and pupil characteristics. The study was designed as a proof-of-concept for a study of teaching and teacher education to be implemented by educationalists, teacher educators, and early career teachers as an ongoing professional endeavor. Primary among the challenges was the development of the sampling design and the construction of measures.     

The Twentieth Century Is Not Yet Over: Resources for the Remaking of Educational Practice

The article traces some lines of connection between teachers’ efforts to reshape the way that teaching and learning are done in local settings, and larger‐scale shifts and tensions in education policy. The article begins with an account of opposition to the changes that European governments inspired by global policy orthodoxy seek to make in their education systems. It suggests that the intellectual and political resources that supply such opposition were accumulated in most cases in the immediate post‐war period, and replenished in the social conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s. It raises the possibility that these resources are now – save in a largely nostalgic sense – exhausted, and cannot contribute to a remaking of education systems. This notion is tested by exploring the ideas and practices of teachers who, working under the banner of ‘creativity’, are attempting to break away from the standards agenda that they have inherited. In doing so, the article suggests, they may find themselves drawing from social, democratic traditions of education, developed not just in England, but elsewhere in Europe; educational internationalism is not the sole property of policy elites.     

Meeting the Demands of the Workplace: Science Students and Written Skills

Over the last 15 years, surveys in a range of English-speaking countries, from North America and the United Kingdom, to New Zealand and Australia, have consistently shown that employers rank oral and written communication skills as highly as or more highly than any technical or quantitative skills. However, in New Zealand there has been very little research into determining exactly what is meant by the “written communication skills” employers state they desire. A further issue in this research to date has been a lack of differentiation between employers—no study has specifically targeted the requirements of employers of science graduates. This article reports the findings of ongoing research into the expectations of science students and of employers of science graduates, and centers around several key questions:

• What do New Zealand employers of science graduates specifically want in terms of their new hires' writing skills?
• How can information gained from employers of science graduates be used to motivate science students to take seriously the need to develop their writing skills?
• How can writing programs be evaluated and developed to help science students acquire communication skills that are important for their future learning and for their employment and promotion prospects?

Findings are compared with the findings of the 2004 National Commission on Writing's survey of American businesses.

     

Testing students under cognitive capitalism: knowledge production of twenty-first century skills

Abstract

Scholars studying the global governance of education have noted the increasingly important role corporations play in educational policy making. I contribute to this scholarship by examining the Assessment and Teaching of twenty-first century skills (ATC21S?) project, a knowledge production apparatus operating under cognitive capitalism. I analyze how ATC21S gains symbolic power and authority as it defines what counts in education through three key processes: (1) By legitimizing and disseminating new knowledge about twenty-first century skills; (2) By implementing this knowledge concretely in schools and (3) By embedding this new knowledge within a global alliance. I suggest that the knowledge produced by ATC21S in calculating and measuring twenty-first century skills contributes to the capture of living labor and its reproduction for the knowledge economy through the school system.     

Teaching efficacy: exploring relationships between mathematics and science self-efficacy beliefs,PCK and domain knowledge among preservice teachers from the United States

This mixed-methods study investigated the relationships among preservice teachers’ efficacy beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and their domain knowledge (DK) as related to mathematics and science teaching. Quantitative results revealed that participants’ PCK was significantly correlated with their mathematics and science efficacy beliefs. Additionally, participants’ mathematics and science DK did not predict their mathematics and science personal efficacy beliefs, however, their PCK score predicted participants’ outcome expectancies. Interview analysis revealed five inter-related key themes, labeled as: Previous academic experiences, Mathematics and science PCK beliefs, Personal efficacy, Outcome expectancies and Emotions. These common themes describe participants’ views of their quality teacher training and thinking about planned instruction. Educational implications are discussed in relationship with study findings.     

The development of clinical reasoning skills: A major objective of the anatomy course

Traditional medical school curricula have made a clear demarcation between the basic biomedical sciences and the clinical years. It is our view that a comprehensive medical education necessarily involves an increased correlation between basic science knowledge and its clinical applications. A basic anatomy course should have two main objectives: for the student to successfully gain a solid knowledge base of human anatomy and to develop and hone clinical reasoning skills. In a basic anatomy course, clinical case discussions based on underlying anatomic anomalies or abnormalities are the major means to teach students clinical reasoning skills. By identifying, classifying, and analyzing the clinical data given, a student learns to methodically approach a clinical case and formulate plausible diagnoses. Practicing and perfecting clinical problem‐solving skills should be a major objective of the anatomy curriculum. Such clinical reasoning skills are indeed crucial for the successful and expert practice of medicine. Anat Sci Ed 1:267–268, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.