From STEm to steM: developing the landscape of teacher learning for STEM education

Abstract

The new Irish Primary Curriculum Framework introduces STEM as one of five broad curriculum areas, and publication of a STEM specification is imminent. Traditionally, STEM content has been taught as discrete disciplines across the sectors, with initial teacher education (ITE) being no exception. However, the new focus on integrated and interdisciplinary approaches has created an impetus to re-examine how we explore the STEM disciplines in ITE. This dissertation presents an action inquiry to prepare preservice teachers for the new demands of STEM education. Participants were two groups of preservice teachers (PSTs) (n=30 and n=28) undertaking a mathematics education specialism as part of their undergraduate programme. This dissertation reports on two 12-week integrated STEM interventions. While both modules differed in their approach, common themes were generated throughout. Findings across both modules indicate that purposefully designed, interdisciplinary STEM education experiences at the ITE level can create informed, confident STEM teachers ready to take on new integrated teaching roles. Opportunities to engage as learners of integrated content supported participants in developing the required STEM literacies and exposed them to the rich and ambitious pedagogies necessary for effective classroom implementation. Collaborative field practices corroborated this learning as they witnessed theory play out in practice and observed the benefits for children. Challenges were also noted as the PSTs negotiated the blurry boundaries of STEM education. This dissertation reports on the difficulties in positioning meaningful mathematics within integrated tasks. Responsive to these challenges in the first iteration of this module, the subsequent design forefronted mathematics as the central discipline. Journeying with these preservice teachers from the lecture room to the primary classroom and back allowed me to examine their evolving understanding of STEM education over time and observe the development of their STEM teacher identities. Implications for ITE and STEM education are discussed.