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1. Applying pre-service teacher training in computer science: Integration into secondary math classrooms

   Green, E; Campe, S; Renaud, D (March 2025, LearnTechLib)

   This paper explores the integration of computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) into middle and high school math classes by teachers who received pre-service CS training. Focusing on three participants within a larger study, the paper describes what they find relevant from their programs, how they apply CS/CT concepts and practices into their math instruction, and what role their value of CS/CT plays in their pedagogical approaches. Data were collected through two interviews and analyzed to present case studies. Findings describe how teachers’ integration of CS/CT varies from algorithmic thinking to prioritizing the process over the solution. Findings show the teachers’ motivation to bring CS to their students, whether by incorporating CS/CT practices in their math classroom or advocating for stand-alone classes. Recommendations for pre-service CS/CT-focused teacher preparation programs include greater emphasis on integration, culturally responsive teaching practices, and learning how to teach in addition to what to teach. 

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2. The Impact of Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Engineering on Their Self-Efficacy with Teaching Engineering

   Chesnutt, Betsy; Mountain, Daniel; Faber, Courtney (July 2023, ASEE annual conference exposition)

   Although engineering is becoming increasingly important in K-12 education, previous research has demonstrated that, similar to the general population, K-12 teachers typically hold inaccurate perceptions of engineering, which affects their ability to provide students with relevant engineering experiences. Studies have shown that K-12 teachers often confuse the work of engineers with that of automotive mechanics or construction workers or assume that engineering is only for “super smart” students who are naturally gifted or who come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. This indicates that many teachers do not understand the nature of engineering work and have stereotypical attitudes about who is qualified to be an engineer. These inaccurate perceptions of engineering among K-12 teachers may influence the way that teachers introduce engineering practices to their students and make connections between engineering and the other STEM disciplines. In addition, teacher self-efficacy has been shown to not only influence teachers’ willingness to engage with a particular topic, but also to have a significant influence on the motivation and achievement of their students. Research also indicates that high-efficacy teachers typically exert more effort and utilize more effective instructional strategies than low-efficacy teachers. The goal of this study was to examine the perceptions that pre-service K-12 teachers hold about engineers and engineering, and to further explore how those perceptions influence their self-efficacy with teaching engineering and beliefs about what skills and resources are necessary to teach engineering in a K-12 classroom. We first developed a survey instrument that included questions taken from two previously published instruments: the Design, Engineering, and Technology survey and the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale for K-12 Teachers. Forty-two students enrolled in an undergraduate program at {Name Redacted} in which students simultaneously pursue a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and K-12 teacher licensure completed the survey. Based on survey responses, six participants, representing a range of self-efficacy scores and majors, were selected to participate in interviews. In these interviews, participants were asked questions about their perceptions of engineers and were also asked to sort a list of characteristics based on whether they applied to engineers or not. Finally, interview participants were asked questions about their confidence in their ability to teach engineering and about what skills and/or resources they would require to be able to teach engineering in their future classrooms. The results of this study indicated that the participants’ perceptions of engineering and engineers did impact their self-efficacy with teaching engineering and their beliefs about how well engineering could be incorporated into other STEM subjects. A recurring theme among participants with low self-efficacy was a lack of exposure to engineering and inaccurate perceptions of the nature of engineering work. These pre-service teachers felt that they would not be able to teach engineering to K-12 students because they did not personally have much exposure to engineering or knowledge about engineering work. In future work, we will investigate how providing pre-service teachers with training in engineering education and exposure to engineers and engineering students impacts both their perceptions of engineering and self-efficacy with teaching engineering. 

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3. The influence of notebooks on elementary teachers engaging in engineering practices.

   Johnson, M.M.; Gil, M. (June 2023, Proceedings ASEE annual conference)

   This fundamental research in pre-college education engineering study investigates the ways in which elementary teachers learn about engineering by engaging in the epistemic practices of engineers. Teaching engineering explicitly in elementary settings is a paradigm shift, as most K-6 teachers are not taught about engineering in their preparation programs and did not do classroom engineering as students. However, current STEM education reforms require these teachers to teach engineering in science settings and it will require concerted efforts between professional development providers and educational researchers to better help these teachers learn about and teach engineering to their students. Our study context consisted of 18 2nd and 4th grade teachers participating in one of two two-day workshops. The first day focused on what engineering is, what the epistemic practices of engineering are, and how to manage classroom engineering projects. The second day focused on how to teach a specific engineering unit for their grade level. Taking a sociomaterial view of learning, we asked the following research questions: 1. How do the engineering notebooks scaffold the teachers activities and discourse? 2. How and to what extent does the notebook support their engagement in engineering practices? Our analysis triangulated between three data sources during a two-hour time period where teachers designed, tested, and improved enclosures intended to minimize cost and mass loss of an ice cube in a heat chamber (“Perspiring Penguins” (Schnittka, 2010)). We focused on teacher talk/action collected from video/audio recordings trained on four small groups (10 total teachers). We also collected engineering notebooks they used during this activity. After initial analyses, we followed up with select teachers with targeted interview questions to focus on clarification of questions that arose. Our findings suggest that the teachers use the notebooks in ways that are significantly different from the ways engineers do; however, they are a useful pedagogical tool that supported them in attending to and discussing activities that were necessary to engage in engineering practices and design/re-design their technology. Additionally, our paper will describe specific examples where teachers had rich discussions that were not represented in the notebooks but there were references made in the notebooks that were not explicitly discussed. Implications for the importance of well-designed notebooks and the benefits of ethnographic methods for researching teacher learning will be discussed. 

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4. Preservice teachers comparing their experiences in implementing science lesson plans during a summer program and in regular school classrooms: Lessons learned

   Vazquez_Domimguez, Max; Goodwin, Lindsay; Hardee, Sheri (February 2024, Conference of the Americas)

   Baldwin, Amy; Danns, Donna; Howe, Chad (Ed.)

   In this presentation, we will do a longitudinal comparison of science lesson plan implementations from a group of preservice teachers’ experiences during a STEM-based summer program to their experiences during their Fall semester in their practice in regular elementary and middle schools. On the one hand, their summer experiences consisted of learning and implementing science and engineering lesson plans using culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, which was an intensive and guided opportunity led by university faculty on one of the university campuses. In this experience, preservice teachers collaborated with peers for 15 days to implement and evaluate their teaching of science activities in a flexible environment. On the other hand, preservice teachers have their required practice in schools during senior year to implement lesson plans and become familiar with the regular tasks of an in-service teacher. This comparison is part of the research conducted by the Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies in Science for English Language Learners project funded by the National Science Foundation and focuses on providing the necessary pedagogical tools to teach STEM to multilingual students (in our case, from Latin American countries). We conclude with a series of recommendations for preservice teachers and in-service teachers who have multilingual and emerging bilingual learners in their classrooms. 

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5. Implementation of Immersive Classroom Simulation Activities in a Mathematics Methods Course and a Life and Environmental Science Course

   Lee, C.W; Lee, T.D.; Castles, R.; Dickerson, D.; Fales, H.; Wilson, C.M. (December 2018, Journal of interdisciplinary teacher leadership)

   This study investigated the influence of immersive classroom simulation activities on the development of elementary pre-service teachers in two separate mathematics and science education courses that simultaneously focus on pedagogy and content. Participants submitted written personal reflections about their teaching experiences using the immersive classroom simulation activities. These reflections were analyzed for common emergent themes within and across courses. The participants discussed the benefits of the immersive classroom simulation activities in their written personal reflections. They viewed the experience as helpful in developing their skills as a practicing teacher in mathematics and science. Specifically, participants identified three sub-themes including: (a) the immersive classroom simulation activities as being beneficial by providing more authentic real-life teaching experiences than those experienced during peer-group teaching activities; (b) the importance of holding complete and appropriate understandings of content when teaching mathematics and science; and (c) the role of deep content knowledge in the process of developing high quality questions for students. This study has shown immersive classroom simulation activities to be a viable alternative for teacher education programs to engage elementary pre- service teachers in developing skills regarding classroom mathematics and science discourse. 

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