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In this study, we examine the reported beliefs of two elementary science teachers who co-taught a four-week engineering project in which students used a computational model to design engineering solutions to reduce water runoff at their school (Lilly et al., 2020). Specifically, we explore the beliefs that elementary science teachers report while enacting an engineering project in two different classroom contexts and how they report that their beliefs may have affected instructional decisions. Classroom contexts included one general class with a larger proportion of students in advanced mathematics and one inclusive class with a larger proportion of students with individualized educational programs. During project implementation, we collected daily surveys and weekly interviews to consider teachers’ beliefs of the class sections, classroom activities, and curriculum. Two researchers performed a thematic analysis of the surveys and interviews to code reflections on teachers’ perceived differences between students in the class sections and their experiences teaching engineering in the class sections. Results suggest that teachers’ beliefs about students in these two different classroom contexts may have influenced opportunities that students had to understand and engage in disciplinary practices. The teachers reported making changes to activities based on their perceptions of student understanding and engagement and to save time which led to different experiences for students in each class section, specifically a more teacher-centered implementation for the inclusive class. Teachers also suggested specific professional development and educative supports to help teachers to support all students to engage in engineering tasks. Thus, it is important to understand teachers’ beliefs to build support for teachers in their implementation of engineering projects that meet the needs of their students and ensure that students have access and support to engage in engineering practices.
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I will survive: Teachers reflect on motivations to remain in education amidst a global pandemic
Abstract As the pandemic began to disrupt school systems in March 2020, teachers were expected to quickly modify their instructional approaches. We recruited science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers who were recipients of National Science Foundation scholarships based on their high‐quality academic record and commitment to working in high‐needs school districts to participate in a longitudinal survey study. Participants (n = 153) graduated from universities or colleges in the Mountain West or western region of the Midwest. Through a series of three surveys administered throughout 2020 to all participants and follow‐up focus group interviews with a subset (n = 42) in early 2021, we examined participants' perceptions and beliefs about the educational system's response to COVID‐19. Participants perceived that the continuation of instructional delivery was the highest priority and that their professional needs were the lowest priority. Most participants believed the actions taken by school districts and schools to be negative or neutral. Participants were categorized by years of experience (preservice 0, novice 1–3, early career 4–5, and master 6+) to compare their perceptions of success and intentions to continue teaching. Participants perceived that their level of success increased with years of professional experience prior to the pandemic, but all participants reported feeling less successful during the pandemic. Despite participants' negative beliefs about the school response and perceived low levels of success, they intended to remain in the classroom short‐term but not necessarily long term. We recommend that teacher educators and administrators (1) help teachers develop their personal knowledge and skills for use in the classroom, especially considering the national shortage of science (and STEM, broadly) teachers in high‐needs districts and (2) develop proactive plans for responding to unexpected crises on large scales, as well as those limited to a particular region.
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- PAR ID:
- 10433037
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- Volume:
- 60
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 0022-4308
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1266-1291
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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