STEM outreach activities: an approach to teachers’ professional development

Abstract

STEM outreach programmes in secondary schools are mediated by STEM teachers who are responsible for organising, implementing and evaluating the activities with a view to promoting STEM subjects. However, research investigating teachers’ STEM roles and professional development through participation in outreach activities is limited. This paper explores teachers’ views of STEM activities, how they understand their role as primary facilitators and the impact of their STEM engagement on their professional development. STEM outreach provides distinct opportunities for situated and dialogic learning. STEM teachers’ effectiveness in engaging students by demonstrating the importance and relevance of STEM subjects in the real world and engaging captivating STEM outreach partners not only supports students learning but also enhances their opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. Semi structured interviews were conducted with eleven teachers from six different schools in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The data reveals STEM facilitators become the ‘face’ of STEM to their pupils. The expertise, knowledge and partnerships STEM facilitators develop, broadens their capacity to deliver teaching imbued with real world applications and improve students’ understanding of the range of new and upcoming careers available. Most importantly, participating in STEM outreach activities help teachers maintain and reinforce their own sense of identity as STEM professionals. Outreach activities provide opportunities for teachers to interact with leading scientists and obtain exposure to cutting-edge research.     

Bringing equity to underserved communities through STEM education: implications for leadership development

ABSTRACT

STEM Education is sweeping the United States, prompted primarily by the recent adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. The surge in interest in STEM Education is beneficial for local schools and communities, and promises to positively impact students, teachers, school leaders, community members, and the future workforce. Unfortunately, inequitable hegemonic structures and practices limit urban students’ access to knowledge, resources, and a comprehensive and fair educational experience. This article explores the STEM activities in place at the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE), at a local university in greater Los Angeles. From a historical context, CISE data show that an approach to STEM education that focuses on serving underrepresented populations by creating a pipeline, can serve as an example for K-12 schools, universities, and educational leaders seeking equitable practices in the field of STEM education. We identify implications for leadership development for school leaders, teacher leaders, and districts.     

美国STEM教育探析及其对我国中学物理教育改革的启示

1986年,美国提出了STEM教育,在美国各界力量的支持和帮助下,STEM教育经过了三十余年的发展,形成了系统性的协调机制和法律政策,在培养学生科学素养、综合能力等方面取得了良好的成效。本文通过分析美国STEM教育的特点,得出对我国中学物理改革带来的启示。     

我国STEAM教育改革的阻力与消解

加快推进我国STEAM教育改革不仅是培养综合型、创新型、应用型人才的必由之路,也是提升国家竞争力和教育发展应对自身危机的可行之径。然而,改革中却存在诸多阻力。从“教育改革”的视角出发探赜改革蕴含的阻力因素,并提出阻力消解对策对促进我国STEAM教育顺利开展、探索一条具有中国特色的STEAM教育发展道路具有重要价值。研究发现,我国STEAM教育改革在实践中遭遇了价值阻力、制度阻力、实际阻力和自身阻力。为消解阻力,应坚持STEAM教育价值先行的基本理路,推进不同主体的自我变革;加强制度供给,理顺STEAM教育与现行制度之间的关系;加大STEAM教师队伍建设力度,推进STEAM课程改革;促进STEAM教育的本体回归,破解“跨学科悖论”。     

论“五育融合教育”

鉴于当前教育领域中"五育"失衡与"本土化STEM教育"缺失的状况,五育融合教育将更符合新时代教育发展的需要。一方面,它是一种培育"完整的人"的全人教育路径,是对五育并举的超越;另一方面,它也是一种适应我国教育特点的本土化跨领域融合教育范式,是一种比跨学科教育抽象层次更高的跨领域教育。因此,与其说它是一种融合教育的理念,毋宁说它是一种可以课程化、活动化的教育类型。作为一个需要进行理论建构与实践创新的全新概念,不仅需要从理论层面勾画符合逻辑理路,也需要从实践层面思考现实难题,前者可以从核心素养"三层架构"入手,后者则可以从目标融合、内容融合、资源融合、教学融合和评价融合等五个维度切入。     

对工程教育改革的几点想法

通过对美国高等工程教育的考察,提出了对我国高等工程教育进行改革的一些想法。     

加快院校工程教育的改革 培养现代工程技术人才

在分析了我国院校工程教育的现状与存在的问题的基础上,提出了面向21世纪的院校工程教育的改革思路是“面向工程,稳定规模,调整结构,提高质量”。办学模式要多样化,各类学校在不同层次上办出特色。     

论我国工程教育的问题与对策

现代化建设迫切需要高质量工程技术人才,因此要加快工程教育的改革。同时大力发展继续工程教育,使工程技术人才得到合理使用的同时通过不断学习提高自身素质。     

Educational inclusion and critical neuroscience: friends or foes?

Momentum is continuing to grow in the circulation of neuroscientific discourse, informing aspects of how we live but affecting too how we think about education and learning. Neurologically informed intrusions into education frequently align with psychology which has until now largely adopted a ‘medical model’, supporting policies and practices which ultimately invoke psychopathology and arguably render individual young people more vulnerable to various forms of social and educational exclusion. This paper urges caution in respect of understandings of educational neuroscience that focus on individual deficits and diagnoses. Rather it holds in mind the broader historical context for neuroscience and its implications for our understandings of what it is to be human in the twenty first century and thereafter for education and learning. Theoretical resources from critical and affective neuroscience but also critical educational psychology are brought together specifically to support the principles of inclusionist policies and practices in education.     

Crossing borders in educational innovation: Framing foreign examples in discussing comprehensive education in the Netherlands, 1969–1979

In the Netherlands, crossing borders to study comprehensive schools was an important strategy in the 1970s, a decisive period for the start and the end of the innovation. According to policy-borrowing theory, actors that engage in debating educational issues are framing foreign examples of comprehensive schooling to convince their audiences. Framing therefore became the leading concept behind our study of the intellectual debate, examined through the leading Dutch scientific journal Pedagogische Studiën (Educational Studies), and the public debate, examined through recordings of television programmes. Assuming that those debates were influential in the political middle school process, our analyses show that foreign examples indeed functioned as a framing device in the form of legitimisation, glorification, sensationalisation and caution. However, the impact of framing differed. In the phase of cross-national attraction, the reform-minded perspective in the scholarly debate had a stimulating effect on the development of the plans, but little influence on the governmental decision-making process. This contrasts with the frames that were brought forward by television programmes. Although the negative frames, such as “a factory-made sausage”, were rejected by the programmes, such frames could linger in people’s minds as a means to interpret ideas about middle schools. At the end of the 1970s, the middle school was reduced to a minor feature of educational policy and, eventually, the middle school experiments were brought to a close. As a result, the foreign solution of introducing comprehensive education was never transferred to the Netherlands.     

关注教师的教育情感

作者对目前教师教育情感的失落作了简要描述,以期引起重视。     

Advancing integrated STEM learning through engineering design: Sixth-grade students’ design and construction of earthquake resistant buildings

ABSTRACT

As part of a 3-year longitudinal study, 136 sixth-grade students completed an engineering-based problem on earthquakes involving integrated STEM learning. Students employed engineering design processes and STEM disciplinary knowledge to plan, sketch, then construct a building designed to withstand earthquake damage, taking into account a number of constraints. On testing, students redesigned to build an improved structure. Using a framework of design processes, we report on the students' capabilities in planning, creating annotated sketches, and transforming these into 3D models. An understanding of core STEM concepts was apparent in their responses, including shape properties, stability, rigidity, balance, strength, and engineering techniques. Group problem solving involved moving iteratively between design phases, frequently revisiting problem scoping, being cognizant of the problem goal, boundaries and constraints, and appreciating design sketches as guiding constructions. Students were also observed to consider a number of problem components simultaneously, indicating their capabilities in handling the complexity of the task.