Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

5 Context for Implementing Integrated STEM
Pages 107-134

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 107...
... We examine three elements of the education system that can advance or limit opportunities for providing integrated STEM: standards, assessment, and teacher education and professional development, including the importance of collaboration. We also briefly touch on other contextual factors that might affect efforts to implement integrated STEM education.
From page 108...
... Engineering practices are described alongside scientific practices, several of which offer opportunities to link to mathematics, including "model­ng" i and "using mathematics and computational thinking." The Framework and NGSS also describe core ideas related to engineering design. The goal of including practices and ideas related to engineering, technology, and applications of science is to help students understand the similarities and differences between science and engineering by making the connections between them explicit (NRC 2012)
From page 109...
... Obtain, evaluate, and communicate in repeated reasoning information egory, the modeling cycle can also be viewed as an engineering design cycle: It involves making choices, assumptions, and approximations. The use of technology is also inherent in modeling; computer-assisted design programs and 3D modeling applications, for example, are tools that are often used in the modeling process.
From page 110...
... Designing Systems of Assessment for Integrated STEM Assessments of integrated STEM education should be balanced, using multiple levels of assessment (e.g., formative, interim, and summative measures of student performance) in a coherent and continuous manner to address student needs, inform instructional adjustments, and guide long-term edu
From page 111...
... Standardized assessments typically include items only partially aligned with an integrated STEM curriculum or projects, whereas assessments of integrated STEM education tend to measure very specific outcomes, and often details of the tests and their technical quality are not reported. As integrated STEM projects and curricula become more widely implemented, more attention will need to be paid to appropriate uses of data from conventional large-scale tests and to procedures for developing and establishing the technical quality of measures for specific interventions.
From page 112...
... incorporated cognitive research findings into systematic test design frameworks, based on evidence from tasks that enable the observation and measurement of learning. The framework can help to structure and focus both the design of integrated STEM learning activities and the systematic, rigorous assessment of specified learning outcomes.
From page 113...
... It asks students to set the generator valve at a specified level and determine how far the control rods need to be lifted for the power plant to supply a continuous output of megawatts without the safety valve opening. The TEL framework suggests the item can be modified to assess engineering design and systems learning goals, such as analyzing potential hazards of the reactor or determining safe levels of temperature and power.
From page 114...
... 114 FIGURE 5-1  Interactive science item from the Framework for NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL)
From page 115...
... The following sections present a synthesis of research on three factors of particular relevance to the implementation of integrated STEM instruction: teachers' content knowledge, self-efficacy, and opportunities for collaboration. Where possible, we refer to research or cite examples from studies that tie directly to integrated STEM education.
From page 116...
... A digital version of the engineer's notebook could deliver questions and problems designed to test the engineering design, science, math, be more challenging for educators capable of guiding students in integrated STEM education. Teachers' STEM Content Knowledge The prospects for widespread implementation of integrated STEM in and out of the classroom may be limited by educators' STEM content knowledge.
From page 117...
... Among middle school science teachers, 41 percent reported having earned a degree in science or science education, and 35 percent of middle school mathematics teachers had a degree in mathematics or mathematics education. The comparable figures for high school teachers were 82 and 73 percent for science and mathematics, respectively.
From page 118...
... suggests coursework in five areas for elementary teachers: number and operations, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. NSSME found that 10 percent of elementary teachers met this standard, 42 percent of mathematics teachers at the secondary level took coursework in at least three of the areas, and 49 percent of middle school mathematics teachers took courses in all or five of the six areas recommended by NCTM.
From page 119...
... The NSSME (Horizon Research 2013) found that only 4 percent of elementary teachers4 and only 6 and 7 percent of middle and high school science teachers, respectively, felt very well prepared to teach about engineering.
From page 120...
... Developing Expertise for Teaching Integrated STEM Because integrated STEM education must address at least two of the four disciplines, one basic question is to what extent a teacher must be responsible for (have expertise in) multiple STEM content areas.
From page 121...
... , which encourages undergraduate STEM majors to pursue careers in secondary-level mathematics and science teaching. UTeachEngineering provides a broad content foundation in STEM for physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering majors to teach grades 8–12 under a new Texas Education Agency certification, 174 ­ athematics/ M Physical Science/Engineering 8–12 (TEA 2011)
From page 122...
... And Boise State University's (BSU) master of science in STEM education program for in-service teachers requires 33 credit hours, including 14 hours of STEM content courses and a 3-credit course covering fundamentals of education research.
From page 123...
... Most earn a 12-semester Integrative STEM Education Graduate Certificate on the way to completing their degree. More than half of the students are middle/high school science, mathematics, and/or elementary school ­eachers, or K–12 administrators; the rest are full-time t technology or engineering teachers, coordinators, or administrators.
From page 124...
... It is the committee's sense that, at this time, most educators with broad STEM backgrounds are likely to find themselves teaching single subjects in fairly traditional settings. Examples of Professional Development for In-Service Integrated STEM Teachers Professional development can boost the STEM content knowledge of in-service teachers, as teachers with expertise in one area, such as science education, pursue coursework to build knowledge in another area, such as mathematics.
From page 125...
... A number of K–12 engineering curricula include professional development that familiarizes in-service teachers in technology, science, and mathematics with the engineering design process (NAE and NRC 2009)
From page 126...
... Teachers work in teams, engaging in an ongoing cycle of ques tions that promote deep team learning. This process, in turn, leads to higher levels of student achievement." For example, when the Martha and Josh Morriss Mathematics and Engineering Elementary School was established in 2007, the Texarkana Intermediate School District introduced a teacher professional development curriculum that provided math content but also empowered teachers to engage in ongoing curriculum design and revision through opportunities for collaboration.
From page 127...
... ; Kennedy reported that, in 2010–2011, the focus of professional development was on "design challenges." OTHER CONTEXTUAL FACTORS Although standards, assessment, and educator expertise must be attended to in implementing integrated STEM, the larger context of the school or after-/out-of-school entity -- its policies, norms, practices, and administrative leadership -- is also important. Schools are influenced by the norms, practices, and policies of the school district, and both schools and after-/
From page 128...
... The NRC (2011a) report Successful K–12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics identified elements shared by schools that showed improvements in student learning in mathematics and science (see Box 5-3)
From page 129...
... CONCLUSIONS State adoption and implementation of the CCSSM and NGSS will require a deeper understanding of how to create effective integrated STEM experiences that engage students in the practices of mathematics, science, and engineering while applying disciplinary content knowledge. If done well, the implementation should lead to fundamental shifts in the teaching of STEM in schools as the standards make explicit the connections between science, mathematics, and engineering and provide a framework for schools and informal education programs to integrate STEM education.
From page 130...
... , it may be especially important for both new and experienced science teachers to become familiar with the engineering design process and how it can be integrated into science teaching. The quest for integrated STEM programs that engage students in real-world applications of STEM knowledge and practices will require significantly different assessments of learning.
From page 131...
... 2009. Engineering professional development design for secondary school teachers: A multiple case study.
From page 132...
... 2009. Morriss Math and Engineering Elementary School: A Case Study of K–5 STEM Education Program Development.
From page 133...
... 2011a. Successful K–12 STEM education: Identifying effective approaches in sci ence, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
From page 134...
... 2013. Integrative STEM Education at Virginia Tech: Graduate preparation for tomorrow's leaders.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.