Middle School Math and Science Teachers Engaged in STEM and Literacy through Engineering Design (Evaluation)

Reagan Curtis; Johnna Bolyard; Darran Cairns; David Luke Loomis; Sera Mathew; Kelly Leigh Watts

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Pre-College: Evaluation
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--28667
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/28667
Download Count: 807

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Reagan Curtis West Virginia University

visit author page

Reagan Curtis, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Psychology and chair of the Department of Learning Sciences and Human Development at West Virginia University. He pursues a diverse research agenda including areas of interest in (a) the development of mathematical and scientific knowledge across the lifespan, (b) online delivery methods and pedagogical approaches to university instruction, and (c) research methodology, program evaluation, and data analysis (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodological) for studies in developmental, educational, and counseling contexts. E-mail: Reagan.Curtis@mail.wvu.edu

visit author page

biography

Johnna Bolyard West Virginia University

visit author page

Johnna Bolyard is an Associate Professor of elementary and middle grades mathematics education in the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University. Her research interests focus on the development of mathematics teachers, particularly how K-8 teachers develop into mathematics teacher leaders.

visit author page

biography

Darran Cairns West Virginia University

visit author page

Darran is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University.

visit author page

author page

Kelly Watts
Kelly has been the Executive Director for RESA 3 since July 2012. Previously, she was the Assistant Ex. Director and Program Development Director of RESA 2 for 7 years. She attained both her B.A. and M.A. from Marshall University and in 2001 she became a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescent Mathematics and re-certified in 2011. Prior to RESA 2 she was the math facilitator and taught mathematics at both the middle and High School level. She has a monograph authored in the book entitled “A Decade of Middle School Mathematics Curriculum Implementations” published by Information Age as well as several Research Papers and Presentations that have been refereed. She presents at both the state and national level and has been awarded over $7 million in a variety of grant awards. In her spare time she visits with her 2 children and 2 grandsons.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

The full paper will describe a professional development program that supports integration of STEM and Literacy through Engineering Design for 24 in-service middle school math and science teachers in rural Appalachia. Through this program, teachers experience Engineering Design as learners, develop lesson plans utilizing engineering design to teach specific relevant math and science content standards and objectives, and receive formative feedback and content knowledge coaching as they deliver and fine-tune those lessons.

Project TESAL (Teachers Engaged in STEM and Literacy) is a three-year professional development program that includes annual two-week summer face-to-face intensive workshops followed by classroom observations with supportive feedback and four additional day-long trainings throughout the school year. We will describe the program in detail, as well as evaluation findings from the first two years of implementation.

Project TESAL successfully recruited a diverse group of mathematics, science, and special educators, and engaged them in professional development they find valuable. The Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM (T-STEM) survey revealed that professional development successfully increased participating teachers’ confidence to teach engineering design, their confidence that they can influence their students’ STEM performance, and their knowledge of STEM careers, as well as the amount they expect to utilize technology and instruction following STEM best educational practices.

Diagnostic Teacher Assessments in Mathematics and Science (DTAMS) for middle school showed that participating teachers initially did poorly outside of their content area focus. Closer inspection of items on mathematics and science assessments revealed difficulty with questions requiring understanding beyond simple procedural knowledge of the mathematics and areas of weakness in Real World Newtonian Physics (MS-PS2-2 in Next Generation Science Standards) and Thermal Transport by Convection (MS-PS3-3). We targeted these areas of weakness through a roller coaster design project as a concrete example of real world Newtonian Physics and a design project to manufacture a lunch box to keep food warm, as well as multiple applications of mathematical thinking to solve engineering design challenges.

Participating teachers improved their content knowledge in targeted areas and identified several strengths of Project TESAL. Participants particularly valued being active participants in learning, opportunities for collaborating with peers and outside experts around the work of teaching, focusing on subject matter content across mathematics and science and students’ learning of that content, and the sustained ongoing nature of Project TESAL where the work teachers did in professional development was fully relevant to their work as classroom teachers. These strengths align directly with best practices for professional development and for overcoming the challenges of professional development specifically on math-science-engineering design integration and instruction.

Citation
Format

Curtis, R., & Bolyard, J., & Cairns, D., & Loomis, D. L., & Mathew, S., & Watts, K. L. (2017, June), Middle School Math and Science Teachers Engaged in STEM and Literacy through Engineering Design (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28667

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The full paper will describe a professional development program that supports integration of STEM and Literacy through Engineering Design for 24 in-service middle school math and science teachers in rural Appalachia. Through this program, teachers experience Engineering Design as learners, develop lesson plans utilizing engineering design to teach specific relevant math and science content standards and objectives, and receive formative feedback and content knowledge coaching as they deliver and fine-tune those lessons. 

Project TESAL (Teachers Engaged in STEM and Literacy) is a three-year professional development program that includes annual two-week summer face-to-face intensive workshops followed by classroom observations with supportive feedback and four additional day-long trainings throughout the school year. We will describe the program in detail, as well as evaluation findings from the first two years of implementation. 

Project TESAL successfully recruited a diverse group of mathematics, science, and special educators, and engaged them in professional development they find valuable. The Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM (T-STEM) survey revealed that professional development successfully increased participating teachers’ confidence to teach engineering design, their confidence that they can influence their students’ STEM performance, and their knowledge of STEM careers, as well as the amount they expect to utilize technology and instruction following STEM best educational practices. 

Diagnostic Teacher Assessments in Mathematics and Science (DTAMS) for middle school showed that participating teachers initially did poorly outside of their content area focus. Closer inspection of items on mathematics and science assessments revealed difficulty with questions requiring understanding beyond simple procedural knowledge of the mathematics and areas of weakness in Real World Newtonian Physics (MS-PS2-2 in Next Generation Science Standards) and Thermal Transport by Convection (MS-PS3-3). We targeted these areas of weakness through a roller coaster design project as a concrete example of real world Newtonian Physics and a design project to manufacture a lunch box to keep food warm, as well as multiple applications of mathematical thinking to solve engineering design challenges.

Participating teachers improved their content knowledge in targeted areas and identified several strengths of Project TESAL. Participants particularly valued being active participants in learning, opportunities for collaborating with peers and outside experts around the work of teaching, focusing on subject matter content across mathematics and science and students’ learning of that content, and the sustained ongoing nature of Project TESAL where the work teachers did in professional development was fully relevant to their work as classroom teachers. These strengths align directly with best practices for professional development and for overcoming the challenges of professional development specifically on math-science-engineering design integration and instruction.
AU  - Reagan Curtis
AU  - Johnna Bolyard
AU  - Darran Cairns
AU  - David Luke Loomis
AU  - Sera Mathew
AU  - Kelly Leigh Watts
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Middle School Math and Science Teachers Engaged in STEM and Literacy through Engineering Design (Evaluation)
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/28667
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28667
ER  -