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This edited volume focuses on challenges facing science education across three areas: curriculum, teacher education, and pedagogy. Integrating a diverse range of perspectives from both emerging and established scholars in the field, chapters consider the need for measured responses to issues in society that have become pronounced in recent years, including lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, the environment, and persisting challenges in STEM teaching and learning. In doing so, the editors and their authors chart a potential course for existing and future possibilities and probabilities for science education. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.
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One way to expand the time spent teaching science in elementary grades and teacher access to science resources is through partnerships with local universities. This article examines one collaboration that aimed to help students "Think Like a Scientist and an Engineer " using aquaponics. This self-sustainable garden combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model was used to introduce the aquaponics project. This article first discusses the University-School partnership, highlighting the project logistics, successes, challenges, and lessons learned, andfollows up with recommendations for future STEM teaching projects.
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Written, invigilated examinations are valued for their reliability, economy and academic integrity. Nevertheless, examinations are problematic. Final, summative examinations can disadvantage students who experience assessment anxiety, and students may not receive useable feedback. An alternative is the two-stage examination, where a traditional examination is followed by a group examination with similar questions. Students gain peer feedback on their examination performance, and can meaningfully apply this feedback. Use of this format in tertiary STEM education in universities has indicated that students prefer the format, although it has been little studied in Australia. Furthermore, its effects on reducing stress and fostering deeper learning are not well understood. The COVID-19 pandemic and switch to online learning has provided us with an opportunity to review our assessment practices and has led to a new willingness to test different examination formats. Here we provide a narrative review of the results of previous studies on two-stage examinations and, based on this and our experience teaching in large-cohort introductory biology courses at an Australian university, we propose a formula for employing them in this context.
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We introduce "Ricerca Operativa Applicazioni Reali" (ROAR;in English, "Real Applications of Operations Research"), a three-year project for higher secondary schools. Its main aim is to improve students' interest, motivation, and skills related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics disciplines by integrating mathematics and computer science through operations research. ROAR offers examples and problems closely connected with students' everyday life or with the industrial reality, balancing mathematical modeling and algorithmics. The project is composed of three teaching units, addressed to grades 10, 11, and 12. The implementation of the first teaching unit took place in Spring 2021 at the scientific high school IIS Antonietti in Iseo (Brescia, Italy). In particular, in this paper, we provide a full description of this first teaching unit in terms of objectives, prerequisites, topics and methods, organization of the lectures, and digital technologies used. Moreover, we analyze the feedback received from students and teachers involved in the experimentation, and we discuss advantages and disadvantages related to distance learning that we had to adopt because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This study seeks to answer the question: What effects did COVID-19 have on the status of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in higher education in the United States? It presents a thematic review of the current literature regarding the social and professional impacts of the pandemic on this group from 2020 to 2022. The research briefly examines the challenges women in STEM faced pre-pandemic and then explores the repercussions of the pandemic to date. It reviews the literature published from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to present day. Recommendations for STEM librarians serving this population are discussed.
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The economy globally has impacted livelihood and organizations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also impacted the 4th Industrial Revolution Digitalization in education, carried many programs with STEM-based courses that entail hands-on methods to online manner. This study was carried out to ensure that STEM education at Malaysian higher education institutions was well-integrated through e-learning (HEIs). Data were collected via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with a mixed-methods research design. Respondents were STEM educators in HEIs within the Klang Valley. Educators between the ages of 30-35 are found to be more adept at using various software suites, browsing websites, and handling multimedia tools for e-learning. 83 percent of the sample stated that their institution has no STEM e-learning procedure, contributing to extra challenges in STEM education. A sound e-learning integration of STEM requires educators with specialization in the courses being taught, able to process knowledge of digital applications, cultivate skills and values to problem resolve, and integrate collaboration in the technological curriculum. HEIs must involve stakeholders to develop resistance plan modification and to portion the integration of e-learning in segments pertaining to course learning outcomes for achieving strategic objectives in STEM education. © 2023, Auricle Global Society of Education and Research. All rights reserved.
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Despite increasing attention to online learning worldwide, learning complex technologies online has always been challenging and even hindersome to students, who are subjected to elevated levels of technostress. In contrast to most previous studies that focused on the negative side of technostress, this study investigated both the negative and positive sides of technostress. Based on the challenge hindrance framework (CHF), the holistic stress model (HSM), and the person-environment fit (P-E Fit) model, we examined how challenge and hindrance techno-stressors caused distress and eustress in online students and lead to associated outcomes. We empirically validated the research model by analyzing survey data collected from 565 online graduate business students enrolled at a university in the United States. The results revealed that some hindrance and challenge techno-stressors were associated with techno-distress and techno-eustress, which further impacted student satisfaction and student retention. We discussed the contributions and implications and provided future research directions.
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Background Purpose Sample Desıgn and method Results This study investigated how an online professional development program (OPDPs) affected preschool teachers' STEM teaching competence, what technological tools and materials they used during STEM education after the program, and what they thought about OPDPs.This study aimed to focus on all dimensions of the effects of OPDPs on the professional development of preschool teachers in STEM educationThe sample consisted of 41 public or private school preschool teachers (33 women and eight men) with different experiences.Participants were recruited using purposive criterion sampling. The study adopted a mixed embedded design. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired sample t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and effect size. The qualitative data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Lesson plans were analyzed using descriptive statistics.The program help participants develop the competence to deliver STEM classes. It also helped them positive attitudes toward OPDPs. After the program, participants used more tools and materials (technological materials, daily-life materials, computer-free coding materials, Lego sets, etc.) in their lectures. Recommendations were made based on the results. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Research in Science & Technological Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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Active learning pedagogy has many documented benefits, and while several positive examples of its recent use in STEM classes have led to better performance, greater diversity, more equity, and improved retention of underrepresented student populations, more research in IS and IT classrooms is needed. Most active learning exercises are in a traditional in-person format;however, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a demand for more online classes. Here we present an easy-to-adopt, active learning crowdpolling exercise that can be used for all modalities, including online, hybrid, and face-to-face, moreover, can be used throughout the semester or for a portion of it. The exercise creates a small crowdpolling results database that can be used to enhance student data literacy and teach a variety of IS topics such as database, systems analysis and design, and data analytics. An extended example of how it is used in the Introduction to IS course is provided.
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A course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) is described, both in its original, field-based and in-person design, as well as its adaptation to online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CURE experience was centered around the topic of microbes attaching to ocean plastic debris, and included connecting nontraditional undergraduate students attending a primarily teaching institution to personnel of a research-intensive institution. The CURE was implemented in nonmajors and majors' general biology laboratory courses, as well as in an introductory microbiology lab course for health majors. Student perception of the CURE was assessed quantitatively through self-administered retrospective surveys, and qualitatively using open-ended survey questions and focus group interviews. Survey questions were grouped into four themes: (1) research at the research institution, (2) research at the teaching institution, (3) laboratory skills, and (4) interest in science. To assess impact of the CURE by modality, major and course level, theme scores were analyzed using ANOVAs (α = 0.05). Changes in student perception of learning were measured by comparing the "before” and "after” survey scores in each theme. The main source of variation in the model was time, followed by theme and major, while modality had a negligible effect. Overall, there were increases in student perception of learning across all themes across modality, major, and course level;however, not all were statistically significant. Highest gains were observed among nonmajors, while those of the majors' upper division courses were the lowest. On the other hand, majors' overall scores were the highest. Health majors' survey gains were mostly between those of nonmajors and majors. Qualitative data contextualized the quantitative results. The online adaptation was a valuable alternative, especially for nonmajors, as it expanded the range of students reached, with results similar to the in-person alternative. Preliminary data show a positive effect of the CURE in student success majoring in biology.
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This paper is devoted to identifying online teaching strategies appropriate for blended and face-to-face higher STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. The study is inspired by the experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which forced many higher education institutions worldwide to shift abruptly to distance education and try many new tools, teaching methods, and strategies. Some of these tools and strategies were abandoned as soon as the lockdown had been lifted and the institutions returned to their regular functioning, but some of them are bound to stay. Certainly, it would be beneficial to include the most valuable of the gained skills and competences in traditional on-campus and blended courses. The study is based on an online questionnaire, addressed to the STEM faculty of the University of Aveiro, Portugal (which is an example of an institution that used to provide face-to-face instruction), whose analysis permits to derive a number of important recommendations. The results are compared with our previous work, where the students' perspectives were analyzed, and similarities and discrepancies in appreciation of the involved parties are highlighted. This work extends the body of knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on STEM education by examining the challenges and opportunities faced by teachers. The recommendations derived contribute to improving the learning outcomes of online STEM education in many similar institutions.
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Information and communication, technology (ICT) has become a necessary tool in education post-COVID-19 pandemic. However, integrating ICT into teaching and learning has been a daunting challenge in many developing countries, such as Uganda. This qualitative case study investigated the challenges that primary school teachers face in implementing ICT in teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in Uganda. The study found various challenges divided into three categories: infrastructure and internet connectivity;individual factors and administrative support;and curriculum and learner support materials. A significant obstacle was the lack of computer access, internet connectivity, and ICT textbooks. Additionally, teachers lacked the ICT skills necessary to integrate technology into their teaching methods, and administrative support was insufficient. The identified challenges in this study will require a multi-pronged approach that includes increasing investment in infrastructure, providing training and support to teachers, and developing relevant and appropriate ICT curriculum materials. In conclusion, this study highlights the challenges that primary school teachers face in implementing ICT in teaching STEM subjects in Uganda. By addressing the identified challenges, policymakers and stakeholders can take steps towards improving ICT integration in primary school education and bridging the digital divide in Uganda and other developing countries.
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Purpose This two-year study illuminates the experiences of technology coaches (digital learning coaches [DL] and science technology engineering and mathematics/literacy coaches [STEM/L]) as they engaged in their own professional learning (PL) facilitated by a faculty researcher.Design/methodology/approach Technology coaches from different school districts and their respective colleagues participated in book studies as part of their PL. They reflected and debriefed individually and collaboratively with a researcher facilitator. Data were collected through interviews, field notes at meetings, observations, researchers' reflections and artefacts. Qualitative data analysis methods were employed.Findings The findings offer a glimpse into (1) benefits of cross-district collaboration, (2) challenges finding resources for coaching, (3) career-long desire to learn and (4) time to build and sustain cross-collaborations.Practical implications Conclusions suggest that DL and STEM/L coaches benefit from their own dedicated, differentiated programme of PL supported by each other (as from other districts) and a researcher facilitator. Educational implications are offered for researchers and other school district stakeholders for consideration for them to foster coaches' collaborative PL.Originality/value Importantly, this project is an exemplar of how to support coaches' PL and growth through researcher facilitation of cross-district collaborative learning.
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This mixed-methods study explores teachers, principals, and supervisors' personal experiences with and perspectives on the features of Discovery Education professional development (PD) programs as a transformative PD (TPD) model, which is implemented as a key component of current educational reforms in Egypt. Constructivist principles, the theory of change, and the transformative learning theory guide this study's framework. Quantitively, more than 4159 participants representing 8.31% of all enrolled teachers and supervisors in grades (G)10–11 PD program all over Egypt responded to an online survey in addition to providing artifacts collected as evidence to instructional transformations during Covid19. Qualitatively, a phenomenological study was conducted with a representative sample of twelve teachers and three principals participating in another two-year PD program about STEM culture implemented in six Egyptian governorates. Findings revealed that this TPD model adopted experiential learning by having teachers wear students' hats, reflect as teachers, apply in real classrooms, see change firsthand, and collectively exchange feedback with ongoing support from expert mentors, principals and supervisors who shared with teachers the same PD journey. The study also concluded that pairing TPD with new reforms such as, embedding technology for deep learning in a curriculum-based PD, inquiry-oriented assessment, research proven instructional strategies, and 21st century skills positively impacted educators' confidence in understanding and buying into these reforms. The study focuses on what works as a TPD model, and why participants' confidence was impacted. With such analysis, this can help structure future TPD models. © 2021 The Authors
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The ongoing digitalisation of the learning processes has both opportunities and obstacles for the educational attainment of students in STEM subjects. In this paper, we summarise student experiences with digitalisation during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide recommendations for how to improve teaching methods of STEM education. The research was conducted through focus groups in a workshop format at 15 European STEM universities across 8 different countries obtaining 147 responses from students. This paper also aims to analyse how the digital competency of both students and professors has been impacting the effectiveness of new teaching methods and education tools during online classes since the start of the pandemic. Students have a variety of needs, with some students preferring the flexibility and anonymity online work gives them, while others thrive better when they are face to face with instructors and dislike the limitations that exist in virtual communication. In addition, we looked at how students view changes in the evaluation of projects and tests that have occurred to prevent cheating. The results show the relevance of digital education and which aspects of it need to be developed further. The paper further explores possible solutions for the issues identified in this research, including learning, methodological and skill development aspects. Overall, we propose hybrid classrooms where students have the choice to explore which method of learning best fits them and how professors can support them to ensure the best educational outcome. © 2022 SEFI 2022 - 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, Proceedings. All rights reserved.
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This research sought to explore changes in education delivery due to COVID-19 between January and December 2020. As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) outbreak which causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), many schools in the U.S. closed to reduce the spread of infection. The significance of the delivery of education may be challenged in the preparation of the next generation of leaders (e.g., science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals) in the United States of America and may not have had the widespread attention that it now receives as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Criteria for selecting the settings for this study included instructors in STEM-related disciplines at selected high schools, HBCUs, MSIs, and PWIs. The methodological approach was informed by narrative inquiry qualitative research methodology. From the study findings, there seems to be evidence that during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, the STEM instructors who participated in this study learned about new technology devices and gained new skills. The STEM educators who participated were P12 and postsecondary STEM instructors. There are strong implications for high school and higher education leadership resulting from this research study, including the imminent need for technology adaptation, mandatory practices of diversified instructional delivery, and the establishment of virtual learning preparedness plans. However, a robust study of a larger sample size is recommended for future research using the ME Model. It appears resourcefulness may be an integral component. While implementing policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the quality, and processes for the delivery of educational opportunities via remote learning, notwithstanding the content of delivery and pedagogy, seems to have been placed under a microscopic outcome-based set of analyses. It may be considered fortunate that the global outbreak is occurring at the height of the digital era. Nevertheless, the pandemic seems to have exposed and exacerbated longstanding pre-pandemic weaknesses in the delivery models within the education systems of the 21st century. However, the ME Model conceptualizes through the lens of the 2020 calendar year used as a timeline for the study, may offer a post-pandemic promise of transformational STEM academics. The researcher and research advisor believe the next study should be a longitudinal study that can lead to the development of a 20-year post-pandemic STEM and STEAM Plan. The implications may unleash the genius among our nation's children through funding models around this study's findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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In the past hundred years, there have been a number of pandemics that have affected the entire world, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. While responses to the most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic remained local, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, resulted in long-term school closures all around the world, prompting a sudden shift to distant education by compelling K-12 educators and students to do so. The purpose of this study is to find out how K-12 education studies reacted to the sudden shift in supporting engineering and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education during the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this goal, we conducted two separate searches in different databases and reviewed 25 articles. These articles were classified into four categories: (1) adaptation to online learning and the effects of a sudden shift, (2) implementing new strategies and tools, (3) STEM education in informal learning environments, and (4) teacher professional development. Our analysis indicated that engineering and STEM education research primarily focused on higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The limited number of studies examining K-12 engineering and STEM first investigated the adaptation to online learning by utilizing various resources that elementary and secondary teachers could easily access. Blended learning, flipped learning, and maker pedagogy were encouraged in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. Movies were the most commonly used tool in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. It is encouraging that studies also examined informal learning contexts (outreach initiatives, museums) and inequities in STEM and engineering education. However, the small number of studies in each category reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the future of K-12 engineering education, especially considering that distant education may become a permanent part of K-12 education. © 2022, Purdue University Press. All rights reserved.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning became a major alternative to college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in postsecondary education. Faculty members, although subject matter experts, often lack pedagogical knowledge and training on how to effectively teach new generations of students online, or incorporate appropriate technologies. Faculty teaching online courses needed a new guiding framework to balance domain goals and emerging technologies. We present grounded design for STEM courses to align domain goals and instructional methods and technologies while reflecting instructors' pedagogical beliefs and addressing cultural and pragmatic issues. It is critical to provide students with aligned STEM learning experience and engagement via defensible theories and research-evidenced pedagogy in online and blended courses while technological, cultural, and pragmatic considerations are also addressed. We suggest grounded design as the conceptual and design framework for designing online and blended courses and discuss the assumptions, approaches, and examples. We provide practical guidelines to apply grounded design to online and blended learning environments and suggest future research. This article can assist both novice and seasoned STEM faculty to connect theory and research to teaching practices and optimise their online and blended courses.Implications for practice* University STEM instructors can use grounded design framework for online, blended, and technology-enhanced teaching.* Instructors should begin the course design by aligning the domain goals with optimal psychological and pedagogical foundations.* When choosing technology to support online learning, instructors should align it with learning goals and needs of students, and consider cultural and pragmatic foundations.
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In March of 2020, the world encountered the COVID-19 pivot, an abrupt transition from in-person interactions to a socially distanced world. Within schools of engineering, this pivot meant a switch out of collaborative environments, including academic makerspaces. This research investigates how engineering faculty pivoted their instruction to account for the limited capacity, of an academic makerspace during the COVID-19 pivot. We interviewed four engineering faculty members in the United States who utilise the academic makerspace for a course project. Then, we used a descriptive case study approach to explore their perspectives on their instructional pivots. Using Henderson et al.'s ([2011]. "Facilitating Change in Undergraduate STEM Instructional Practices: An Analytic Review of Literature.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 48 (8): 952–984) theoretical framework of change strategies within undergraduate STEM education, we identify when and how each change strategy was used and discuss themes across the instruction pivots. These pivots provide real-world examples of instructional shifts that instructors implemented to differentiate, and in some cases change, their coursework to support inclusive learning environments.