ERIC Number: EJ1310905
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Feb
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2576-6767
EISSN: N/A
An Analysis of the Effect of Long-Term Professional Development on Teacher Engineering Self-Efficacy and Its Impact on Classroom Instruction
Crawford, Christina; Obenland, Carrie; Nichol, Carolyn
Journal of STEM Outreach, v4 n1 Feb 2021
Pre-college engineering education has gained traction in U.S. schools over the past twenty years. This growth is evident with engineering emerging as a crosscutting discipline in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, the scarcity of professional development (PD) for K-12 teachers who want to teach engineering and the few PD opportunities with the characteristics shown to improve teacher learning, i.e., contact time, long-term support, and follow-up, suggest a need for new and innovative PD offerings for K-12 teachers. We developed a 45-hour graduate course specifically for K-12 teachers to incorporate engineering into their classrooms and evaluated the effect of this long-term PD on K-12 teaching engineering self-efficacy. Additionally, this study looked at how the participants translated the course into their teaching practices. Forty-one in-service teachers participated either in a 2018 or 2019 semester-long course that combined nanotechnology content and Project-Based Learning pedagogy. Pre-post measures using Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale revealed significant gains in both cohort teachers' self-efficacy. Teachers found the course effective in building their technical skills and providing beneficial PD. This study's significant positive outcomes indicate that the course analyzed serves as a pre-college engineering education PD model.
Descriptors: Professional Development, Program Length, Program Effectiveness, Inservice Teacher Education, Elementary Secondary Education, STEM Education, Science Teachers, Engineering Education, Graduate Study, Water, Technology, Sustainable Development, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Self Efficacy, Learner Engagement, Active Learning, Student Projects, Authentic Learning
Journal of STEM Outreach. PMB 0367, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203. e-mail: jstemoutreach@vanderbilt.edu; Web site: https://www.jstemoutreach.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas (Houston)
Grant or Contract Numbers: EEC1449500