for pre-service teachers, there was no direct measure of self-efficacy, although the investigatorspostulate that confidence is related to self-efficacy [1]. Another study found that there are manyfactors that may encourage or discourage pre-service teachers from implementing open-endeddesign activities during their teacher training [3]. Most commonly cited reasons for notincorporating such projects included lack of host teacher support [3]. It is suggested that usingopen-ended design projects to lead to more formal scientific inquiry may be beneficial for bothelementary students and elementary teachers who lack content knowledge in science [3]. Neitherof these studies directly evaluates the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers, although they
instrument used to measure teachers’ perceptions ofengineering and familiarity with teaching engineering, engineering design, and technology. Priorto data analysis in the current study, the internal consistency of the Barriers to Integrating DETsubscale was determined using Chronbach’s α. The Chronbach’s α for the current study of α =0.63 was slightly lower than the value of α = 0.68 reported by Hong et al. [13]. Texas Poll of Elementary School Teachers. The Texas Poll of Elementary SchoolTeachers was a phone interview questionnaire designed to gather information that could be usedto improve science teaching at the elementary level [14]. For the current study, questions 3, 4, 5,6, 9, 10, 26, and 27 of the Texas Poll were modified by replacing
curriculumwriting portion of the EngrTEAMS: Engineering to Transform the Education of Analysis,Measurement, and Science Project. There were nine teachers that participated in all three years.Of these nine, seven had pre-interview data. These seven were invited to participate in thefollow-up interview. Six of the seven responded to our request for an interview. Table 1 providesan overview of the teachers’ demographics. Pseudonyms have been used to preserve the identityof the teachers.Table 1 Participant Background Years of Grade(s) Teaching Teacher Degree experience* taught assignment School information
ofdescriptive sub-codes, such as student discussion of particular stages within the engineeringdesign process or sources of self-efficacy, and magnitude codes, such as student responsesindicative of various levels of understanding. Following coding, interview data were thendescribed using conceptually clustered matrices [32] in order to illustrate variations in patternsbetween students and across the two years for each student. These patterns were thentriangulated with students’ engineering design logs and results from an engineering designprocess assessment and a measure of academic self-efficacy (described below) to confirmwithin- and between-case patterns.Engineering Design Process LogsEngineering Design Process (EDP) Logs for two focal students
design tasks also include quantifying and analyzing differences in the self-efficacy held by individuals with a range of engineering experiences. Prior studies on self-efficacyin engineering design tasks have also examined how the self-efficacy values differ with genderand background of the participants [27,33].In this effort, our focus was to measure the change in self-efficacy values before and after thetraining with the objective of improving our PD. For this reason, we did not consider any genderand background related studies, instead we performed a generalized study. This survey had foursections for rating an individual’s perceived confidence, motivation, success expectation, andanxiety in performing several portions of the project-based
InterviewsMSEN teachers, student participants, and mentors participated in either focus groups or interviewsto determine the program’s impact on the items outlined in the evaluation criteria. Semi-structuredinterview protocols were used to guide discussions with participants. Interviews and focus groupswere digitally recorded and transcribed. A reflective analysis process was used to analyze andinterpret interviews and focus groups.Test of Students’ Science KnowledgeA student science content knowledge assessment aligned to the instructional goals of the researchcourse was developed and administered at the onset and conclusion of each part of the course.S-STEM SurveyThe S-STEM Student Survey measures student self-efficacy related to STEM content
-efficacy scale, Riggs and Enochs’ [13]science teaching efficacy beliefs, Bandura’s [14] teacher self-efficacy scale and the Tschannen-Moran and Hoy’s [15] Ohio State teacher efficacy scale.Students' responses to the measures of math/science self-efficacy, math/science outcomeexpectations, and critical thinking were examined over time to see if there were significantchanges from the pre-test completed prior to the camps to the post-test that was completed at theend of the two-week camps. Of the 98 students who completed the pre-test surveys, 67 hadmatching post-test data for analyzing changes on the outcome variables over time. Resultsrevealed that students exhibited statistically significant increases in two of the three variables.Over the two
actions, or efforts to implement one’s goals such asseeking additional training (Lent, 2013). For example, after gaining entry into medical school, astudent may have difficulty completing the required coursework. He may also conclude that thework conditions and rewards available as a medical doctor suit him less well than he initiallyanticipated. These learning experiences may incite the student to revise his self-efficacy beliefsand outcome expectations, leading to a shift in interest and goals (selection of a new career path).Other instruments based on SCCTWhile there are instruments that measure student outcomes (content knowledge, reasoning skills,psychosocial attributes) after participating in various disciplines of STEM fields (Minner
to their students formany years. Some individual teachers may find it challenging to engage in robotics-aided STEMeducation due to their lack of required TPACK self-efficacy (see [5,9] for details about TPACKself-efficacy). Moreover, all robotics-aided STEM lessons are not the same, i.e., their difficultylevels may vary due to variations in the required TPACK. Specifically, while some lessons maybe more complicated from the design or programming (technology) point of view, others may becomplicated from the teaching, learning, or assessment (pedagogical) point of view, and theincorporation of robots (technology) may also impact the pedagogy. Thus, it is important toconcentrate on investigating the TPACK framework for individual teacher and
applications can make the world a better place.This paper presents an alternative to additive outreach programs prevalent in universities andengineering societies. The proposed teaching paradigm is demonstrably simple to implement,eases teacher workload, enhances student learning and creates a significant improvement inperceptions and beliefs about self-efficacy in physics, an indicator of student success andmotivation. The research identifies an unanticipated impact of introducing engineering designprinciples into Physics 11 classrooms. Physics 11 teachers participated in developing a lessonplan that guides facilitators of learning through the discovery- or inquiry-based activity. Themixed methods research methodology included surveys, observations
persistence and retention in the field [28], [29]. Godwin [30]dissociates identity into three separate factors: recognition from others, interest in engineering,and performance/competence, which is tied closely with self-efficacy. Similar measures are thusused in the survey instrument for this work. Also tied to engineering interest is the exposure ofstudents to seeing the ways in which engineers contribute to society, how they change the world,and how they make it a better place. Explicitly showing this can help encourage futureengineering interest and broaden participation in the field [31].The literature shows that much has already been implemented in the way of promoting equity inengineering and science. Much of what has been done has been in the
the 25 girlsin the FEMME program, 18 had attended the 4th grade FEMME program, 5 had attended the 4thgrade mixed-gender program, and there were 2 new students. One of the girls who hadpreviously attended the 4th grade FEMME program attended one of the mixed-gender programs.Except for the FEMME programs which had approximately 70% returning students, each of theother programs had approximately 40% returning students.The positive effects on female students acquired during the summer of 2015 were sustainedthrough the school year and were still evident from pre-measures for girls who returned duringthe summer of 2016. At the beginning of the 2016 program, the girls who had attendedFEMME4 showed higher levels of self-efficacy and demonstrated a
-making after participating in an integrated science,technology, engineering, and mathematics academic/ career summer camp. Using a case studymethodology, we examine three of the students in detail regarding their changes in self-reportedfuture academic major choices and career goals utilizing measures of motivation, self-efficacy,and self-determination.Interview data provides qualitative evidence that participants’ experiences during camp mayindeed impact their short-term outlook towards their informed decision making and motivationrelated to pursuing STEM careers. Repeat participants (two or more years) are highlighted as casestudies and their survey and interview input is analyzed to determine to what extent, if any, studentsattribute changes
to be inadequately prepared and lack the confidence to teach theengineering components of the standards, leading to avoidance or misrepresentation of theengineering practices in the classroom [4]. This paper describes the development of aprofessional development experience for science teachers designed to address these potentialpitfalls and support the implementation of the NGSS in science classrooms. The overarchingresearch question driving this work is: How do science teachers rate their self-efficacy inengineering knowledge and instruction, as well as the importance of engineering practices inlearning science? This paper reports on theoretical foundations, pre-treatment data, and a novelintervention design for improving science teachers
expressedincreased interest in attending college, increased interest in majoring in engineering, anappreciation of soldering as a useful skill, and recognition of how specific physics concepts wereapplied to electrical engineering design. Qualitative data allowed the researchers to elicitthematic elements of student impacts, including appreciation of hands-on tasks related topotential engineering careers, novelty of using circuit boards for a practical technological device,and self-efficacy in creating and building designs as part of a team effort to maximize deviceefficiency and performance. Future science and engineering curricular efforts may leverage thesefindings to replicate and design similar curricular activities for secondary
experience of inventing. What evidence do we have that this assumption is correct? What types of benefits doinvention-focused educational curricula and experiences confer to students? While there is a general sense that students benefit from involvement in these types of experiences, the formalliterature reflects a limited understanding of what specific benefits to students occur throughparticipation in invention education, as well as a lack of reliable and validated measures of theseoutcomes. Limited empirical evidence, gathered through interviews with educators, suggests thatstudents who engage in maker-centered education may experience gains in problem-solving,risk-taking, teamwork skills, self-efficacy, and sense of community; the
(rather than individuals) and help withan overview of the differences and similarities between groups of individuals.Research is emerging that is examining the potential of quantitative tools for measuring theoutcome of maker activities on youth. In a recent project, Chu et al. developed a series of surveyinstruments to measure youth’s interest, self-efficacy and self-identity with respect to makingand science [2]. The survey tools measured maker identity, self-efficacy and interest, as well as,science self-efficacy and interest. Additionally, the researchers measured the students’ STEM-career possible selves and interest. In a year-long study with 121 middle-school students (ages 8-11) who participated in weekly maker activities, they found that
given equalopportunity for immersive BME opportunities.Outside of interest, it has also been shown that in the context of STEM education and career choices,student self-efficacy regarding research skills predicts undergraduate student aspirations for researchcareers [7]. Self-efficacy has also been identified to influence ‘motivation, persistence, anddetermination’ in overcoming challenges in a career pathway [8]. Programs that produced significantdifferences in student self-efficacy tend to be semester-long and academically challenging, as opposed toactivities such as field trips or singular class visits [9]. MEDscience, a medical simulation-based STEMprogram integrated into high school science classes through collaboration between the Harvard
STEM activities,interest in STEM careers, a sense of STEM identity (“I am a science person”), and anunderstanding of the role of science and technology in everyday life. As shown in Exhibit 4,FIRST participants score significantly higher than comparison students on all five STEM-relatedmeasures after controlling for baseline scores and participant characteristics.There were no significant differences, however, between FIRST participants and comparisonstudents for non-STEM measures used in the study, including academic self-concept, collegesupport, self-efficacy and prosocial behavior, 21st century skills, and the 21st century skillsubscales for teamwork, problem solving and communication. These results are consistent withthose found in earlier
training for teachers. Project Lead the Way, for example, allows schools to offer engineeringexperiences through design courses in a variety of disciplines [26]. University-based K-12outreach programs have also shown promise in promoting engineering knowledge, self-efficacy,and interest [27]-[30]. It must be understood that, by necessity, knowledge of these standards andprograms must be communicated to school counselors to increase student awareness andaccessibility. Schools advocating for these programs have indicated their commitment to studentpreparation for STEM careers and school personnel should understand the mechanisms by whichthese programs do so.Research questions. This pilot, ongoing research explores the following overarching
computational thinkingin middle school through game programming [23]. Weese and Feldhausen proposed anothermethod to assess computational thinking of K-12 students based on self-efficacy in solvingproblems with microcontrollers and computer programming [24]. Yasar et al. investigated theessence of computational thinking and tools to promote it in K-12 education [25]. Mostimportantly, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have also recommendedincorporation of computational thinking in K-12 science education [20]. However, prior effortshave not considered exploration of computational thinking within the context of robotics-based K-12 STEM education.From the aforementioned literature review, below we discuss the details of two relevant articlesand
. 127-150.[9] M. Macia and I. Garcia, "Informal online communities and networks as a source of teacher profesional development: A review," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 55, pp. 291- 307, 2016.[10] A. L. M. Kendall and K. B. Wendell, "Understanding the beliefs and perceptions of teachers who chose to implment engineering-based science instruction," in American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, San Antonio, TX, 2012.[11] E. E. Peters-Burton, S. A. Merz, E. M. Ramirez and M. Sourghi, "The effects of cognitive apprenticeship-based professional development on teacher self-efficacy of science teaching, motivation, knowledge calibration, and perceptions of inquiry-based teaching
): p. 117-136.7. Hylton, P.e.a. Science Bound: A Success Story for STEM Education. 2012 Frontiers in Educ. Conf. Proc. 2012. Seattle, WA.8. Pong, W.E., A.G.; Shahnasser, H. ; Chen, C.; Ozer, N.M.; Cheng, A.S.; Jiang, H.; Mahmoodi, H. Enhancing the interest, participation, and retention of underrepresented students in engineering through a summer engineering institute. 2011 Annu. Conf. & Expo. 2011. Vancouver, BC.9. Enriquez A.G.; Pong, W.O., N.M.; Mahmoodi, H.; Jiang, H.; Chen, C.; Shahnasser, H; Patrick,N. Developing a Summer Engineering Program for Improving the Preparation and Self-Efficacy of Underrepresented Students. 21st ASEE Annu. Conf. & Expo. 2014. Indianapolis, IN.10. Bachnak R, G.R., Summer
we saw with our young man’s frustration and outburst. We can see how simplestrategies and actions by researcher supported or hurt identity and self-efficacy. Learners of allages could possibly benefit from formal and informal activities which generate and mature a ‘gutfeel’ for how a language works and then how it connects to the commands and syntax. Foryoung learners developing confidence in using the technology and an identity as someonecapable of doing so is a valuable precursor skill towards later learning in programming.Limitations and Next Steps The main limitations in this research are the small number of trials and the ‘second hand’nature of the data. In total just over five hours of video were analyzed with about 60