This paper presents the experiences of two STEM outreach specialists as they prepared two rural middle school teachers with limited STEM backgrounds to implement a 3-part grade level specific engineering design elective course at their schools. This work is part of an Innovative Experiences for Teachers and Students (ITEST) project designed to provide community-based engineering design experiences for underrepresented middle school students (grades 6-8) from rural N.C. The course engages students in authentic STEM design experiences situated in the advanced manufacturing industry in an effort to improve their STEM content knowledge and career awareness and their self-efficacy, identity and interest in STEM careers, particularly engineering.
The outreach specialists experienced a number of challenges as they worked with the teachers, many of which were exacerbated by the on-going pandemic. In response to social distancing requirements imposed by COVID-19, the specialists adopted a just-in-time (JIT) approach to teacher professional development (PD) where the content, pace, and scheduling of PD sessions were based on each individual teacher’s prior content knowledge, comfort level and work schedule. This paper focuses on the process of skill preparation of the middle school teachers in the execution of the 6th grade course in the 2020-21 school year. Additional aspects to be discussed include a sampling of best practices, an overview of lessons learned and implementation strategies during the second iteration of the 6th grade course and the first implementation of the 7th grade course during the 2021-22 school year.
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This content will become publicly available on January 27, 2025
School Connectedness and Academic Self-Efficacy During Pandemic Learning: A Mixed-Methods Study of Middle School Students’ Science Experiences
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic changes to the experiences of school for young people around the world as youth and adults navigated changes to instructional format and means of engaging in teaching and learning. School connectedness during the pandemic served a potentially protective role for adolescents during this uncertain time. In this study, we investigate students’ ( n = 64) experiences of connectedness with their teachers and peers and examine how students’ perceptions of belonging relate to their science self-efficacy. We draw on mixed-methods with students at two middle schools using dramatically different instructional approaches. These multiple data sources provide insight into the importance of building and sustaining relationships and connectedness for students’ self-efficacy, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Connectedness to one’s science teacher was the strongest predictor of science self-efficacy, and qualitative data describe how connectedness was fostered even when typical approaches were unavailable.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1749696
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10487885
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of Early Adolescence
- ISSN:
- 0272-4316
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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