Asia-Pacific STEM Teaching Practices: From Theoretical Frameworks to Practices

213 Pages·2019·4.689 MB·English

by  Ying-Shao Hsu, Yi-Fen Yeh

Ying-Shao Hsu
Yi-Fen Yeh   Editors
Asia-Pacific
STEM Teaching
Practices
From Theoretical Frameworks
to Practices
fi
Asia-Paci c STEM Teaching Practices
Ying-Shao Hsu Yi-Fen Yeh
(cid:129)
Editors
fi
Asia-Paci c STEM Teaching
Practices
From Theoretical Frameworks to Practices
123
Editors
Ying-Shao Hsu Yi-Fen Yeh
National Taiwan Normal University National Taiwan Normal University
Taipei, Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan
ISBN978-981-15-0767-0 ISBN978-981-15-0768-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0768-7
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Contents
1 Opportunities and Challenges of STEM Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Ying-Shao Hsu and Su-Chi Fang
2 The Potential of Arts-Integrated STEM Approaches to Promote
Students’ Science Knowledge Construction and a Positive
Perception of Science Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Hye-Eun Chu, Yeon-A. Son, Hyoung-Kyu Koo, Sonya N. Martin
and David F. Treagust
3 A Framework for Examining Teachers’ Practical Knowledge
for STEM Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Kennedy Kam Ho Chan, Yi-Fen Yeh and Ying-Shao Hsu
4 Instructional Knowledge of STEM: The Voices of STEM
Teachers in Taiwan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Yi-Fen Yeh and Ying-Shao Hsu
5 Teachers’ Conceptions About STEM and Their Practical
Knowledge for STEM Teaching in Hong Kong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Valerie W. Y. Yip and Kennedy Kam Ho Chan
6 Teacher Professional Development for STEM Education:
Adaptations for Students with Intellectual Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . 83
Winnie Wing Mui So, Jia Li and Qianwen He
7 Teaching Engineering-Focused STEM Curriculum:
PCK Needed for Teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Szu-Chun Fan and Kuang-Chao Yu
8 Exploring the Affordances of Open-Source Sensors inPromoting
Authenticity in Mathematics Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Joshua Lee Shanwei, Kenneth Y. T. Lim, Yuen Ming De
and Ahmed Hilmy
v
vi Contents
9 Changing STEM and Entrepreneurial Thinking Teaching
Practices and Pedagogy Through a Professional Learning
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Lihua Xu, Coral Campbell and Linda Hobbs
10 PotentialandChallengesinIntegratingScienceandMathematics
in the Classroom Through Real-World Problems: A Case
of Implementing an Interdisciplinary Approach to STEM . . . . . . . 157
Wanty Widjaja, Peter Hubber and George Aranda
11 Framing and Assessing Scientific Inquiry Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Russell Tytler and Peta White
12 Assessment Challenges in STEM Reforms and Innovations . . . . . . 191
Su-Chi Fang and Ying-Shao Hsu
13 Epilogue—Understanding STEM for STEM Education:
Toward a Systems Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Sibel Erduran
Chapter 1
Opportunities and Challenges of STEM
Education
Ying-ShaoHsuandSu-ChiFang
1.1 Introduction
STEM(science,technology,engineering,andmathematics)educationhasemerged
ineducationalreformsinthepastyearsworldwide.STEMeducationcanbeviewedas
aninstructionalapproachinwhichthecontentsoftheSTEMdisciplinesareaddressed
as a cluster of individual science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ideas
(multidisciplinary)orasintegratedideas(interdisciplinaryandtransdisciplinary)into
the engineering design process and open-ended inquiry into real-world issues and
problems.ItisbelievedthatSTEMeducationhasthepotentialtomotivatestudents
tostudyandengageinfutureSTEMfields.Moreimportantly,STEMeducationcan
preparestudentstotacklemultidisciplinaryandincreasinglycomplexproblemsina
globalsociety.
Inrecentyears,theubiquitouscallsforSTEMeducationhaveencouragededuca-
torsandpolicymakerstopromoteSTEMpracticesinclassroomsforthenextgenera-
tionofcitizens.However,thereseemstobenoconsensusonthedefinitionofSTEM.
SomeresearchersdefineSTEMasabroadareaencompassingmanydisciplinesand
epistemologicalpractices(Lamb,Akmal,&Petrie,2015).Othersregarditasapply-
ingtransdisciplinaryknowledgeandskillsinsolvingreal-worldproblems(Breiner,
Harkness, Johnson, & Koehler, 2012). The definitions do not consistently address
whetherSTEMisanumbrellalabelforaclusterofscientific/mathematical-oriented
economicopportunitiesandcareersoranintegrateddisciplinewithpotentialsyner-
gies not found in the separate disciplines. Shernoff, Sinha, Bressler, and Ginsburg
(2017)suggestedthatSTEMeducationistocreatestudent-centeredlearningenvi-
ronments in which students construct evidence-based explanations of phenomena
Ying-ShaoHsuisavisitingprofessoratUniversityofJohannesburg,SouthAfrica.
B
Y.-S.Hsu( )·S.-C.Fang
GraduateInstituteofScienceEducation,NationalTaiwanNormalUniversity,TaipeiCity,Taiwan
e-mail:[email protected]
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2019 1
Y.-S.HsuandY.-F.Yeh(eds.),Asia-PacificSTEMTeachingPractices,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0768-7_1
2 Y.-S.HsuandS.-C.Fang
andthengeneratesolutionstoreal-worldproblemsthroughapplyingscience,tech-
nology,engineering,mathematics,andassociatedpractices.Whilestudentsconstruct
explanationsabouttheworldandseeksolutionsforproblems,theyaregivenoppor-
tunities to develop critical thinking, collaborative approaches, and communicative
skills.Furthermore,suchstudent-centeredlearningenvironmentsallowmorespace
fortheircreativeandinnovativeskillsdevelopment.
The number of STEM education studies reported in science education journals
andotherpublicationshasgrowninparallelwiththecallsforSTEMeducationfrom
nationalpoliciesandpromotionsbyvariouslayersoftheeducationalsystem.This
chapterisintendedtopresentavisionofSTEMeducationbasedonthereviewofand
reflectiononthesestudies.FromtheseinsightsintoSTEMresearch,weidentifyand
addressthechallengesfacedbyteachersandeducators.Wealsopointoutpossibilities
byproposingacomprehensive,multifaceted,andcoherentSTEMeducationvision
forteachersandteachereducators.
1.2 ConceptualizingSTEMEducationintheField
ofScienceEducation
WecollectedandreviewedthestudiesrelevanttointegratedSTEMeducationinthe
fivekeyscienceeducationjournals:JournalofResearchinScienceTeaching, Sci-
enceEducation,InternationalJournalofScienceEducation,InternationalJournal
of Science and Mathematics Education, and Research in Science Education. The
analysisattemptedtounderstandhowSTEMeducationisconceptualizedinthefield
ofscienceeducationbyconsideringthesestudies’researchfoci,goalsoftheSTEM
programs,andhowSTEMeducationwasintegrated,designed,andimplemented.
The first database (N = 165 articles) was formed using the keyword STEM to
searchinthefivejournalsfrom1995through2018.Aftereliminatingresearchstudies
thatwerenotrelatedtodesigning,implementing,andevaluatingintegratedSTEM
curricula,26articles(identifiedby*inReferences)wereretainedforthefinalcontent
review.Thefollowingsectionsofthischapterreportonthetrendsrevealedfromthe
reviewregardingthefociofSTEMeducationresearch,theintendedgoalsofthese
STEMprograms,thenatureofSTEMintegration,andimplementationsupports.
1.2.1 TheFociofSTEMEducationResearch
Two major research themes were found in the reviewed studies. The first research
themewasconcernedwiththeeffectsofintegratedSTEMcurriculaonstudentlearn-
ingandachievement;thesecondresearchthemefocusedonhowintegratedSTEM
curriculamightimpactstudents’engagement,interests,identity,andcareerchoices
towardSTEM.
1 OpportunitiesandChallengesofSTEMEducation 3
1.2.1.1 LearningandAchievement
Thereviewadopteddifferentlevelsofachievementassessment(Ruiz-Primo,Shavel-
son,Hamilton,&Klein,2002)toevaluatetheeffectsofintegratedSTEMcurriculaon
students’learningoutcomesandtodeterminethefactorsthatinfluencedtheSTEM
learningexperiences.
Somestudiesusedtheassessmentsattheproximallevel(Ruiz-Primoetal.,2002)
such as unit tests to evaluate student content knowledge gains on specific scien-
tifictopicsafterexperiencingashort-termSTEMcurriculum.Korur,Efe,Erdogan,
andTunç(2017)showedthatusingascaffolded,design-basedapproach(tocreate
a toy crane) increased middle school students’ conceptual understanding of sim-
plemachinesandtheircreativeattitude.Park,Park,andBates(2018)reportedthat
engineeringdesignpracticesinaSTEMactivity(createaclayboat)couldenhance
young children’s understandings about the concept of volume. King and English
(2016) explored how students applied STEM concepts in an optical engineering
design process rather than simply focusing on content knowledge. Chien and Chu
(2017)analyzedstudents’worksheets,designdrafts,andgroupdiscussionsaftera
CO -carengineeringdesignunitinordertounderstandhowtheyappliedscientific
2
knowledgeinthedesignprocessandhowtheircreativitymightbeimproved.
Anothergroupofresearchersinvestigatedtowhatextentlong-termSTEMexpe-
riences might impact students’ knowledge gains. Guzey, Ring-Whalen, Harwell,
and Peralta (2019) reported that a 3-year, design-focused, life science curriculum
resulted in higher student science and engineering learning gains. Means, Wang,
Young,Peters,andLynch(2016)comparedtheachievementofnorthernCalifornia
students from inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) and non-STEM comparison
highschoolsintermsofgradepointaverage(GPA)andAmericanCollegeTesting
scores.TheirfindingsindicatedthatattendingISHSshadpositiveimpactsonGPA
scores. Similarly, their second study also showed positive relationships between
ISHSsattendanceandGPAscoresintwosamplesfromdifferentplaces:NorthCar-
olinaandTexas(Means,Wang,Youngetal.,2017).
Apart from examining the effects of STEM experiences on the overall student
achievement,severalstudiesexploredhowdifferent(e.g.,gender,ethnicity,achieve-
mentlevel)groupsofstudentsrespondedtoSTEMcurriculadifferentlyandledto
diverselearningoutcomes.Han,Capraro,andCapraro(2015)employedastate-wide
accountabilityassessmenttomeasurestudentmathematicsachievement;theyfound
that,compared tomiddleand highachievers, STEMproject-based learning (PBL)
activitiesbenefitedlow-performingstudentsthemost.Dickerson,Eckhoff,Stewart,
Chappell,andHathcock(2014)pointedoutthatapulloutSTEMprogramwasable
toclosetheachievementgapintermsofstandardizedtestscoresbetweenBlackand
Whitestudents.Itwasalsoreportedelsewherethatgroupingstudentswithdiverse
academicpreparednesswashighlyassociatedwithpositivelearningoutcomesand
benefitedless-preparedstudents(Micari,VanWinkle,&Pazos,2016).
TheoverallfindingsindicatedthatSTEMprogramswerepromisingforenhancing
students’sciencelearningachievementandespeciallyhelpfulforunderrepresented
populations in STEM fields. Nevertheless, as the studies did not provide critical
4 Y.-S.HsuandS.-C.Fang
information about long-term STEM programs—such as to what extent the goals
of the STEM programs are aligned with state-level examinations and how those
integratedSTEMcurriculaweredesigned,implemented,andevaluatedinaschool-
widemanner—littlecanbeconcludedfromthefindingsaboutwhatwaystheSTEM
programssupportedstudentlearning.
1.2.1.2 Engagement,Interest,Identity,andCareersTowardSTEM
TheimpactofintegratedSTEMcurriculaonstudents’affectivelearningoutcomes,
self-relatedconstructs,andcareeroptionswastheothermajorthemebeingstudied
inthisreview.Generally,long-termSTEMexperiencesappeartoraisehighschool
and university students’ interest in science and technology and encourage them to
pursueaSTEMcareer.TwostudiesbytheMeans’researchgrouprevealedthatthe
3-yearISHSsexperiencesraisedthetendencythatastudentwillcompletecalculus
andchemistryinhighschool,participateinSTEM-relatedextracurricularactivities,
studyforhigherdegrees,andpursuesciencecareers(Means,Wang,Weietal.,2017;
Means,Wang,Youngetal.,2016).Moreover,femaleandunderrepresentedminority
studentsinISHSsweremorelikelytoundertakeSTEMcourseworkandexpresstheir
careerinterestinscientificareas.SimilarpositiveeffectsonSTEMcareeraspirations
werefoundforstudentswhoparticipatedinhighschoolSTEMsummerprograms:
theNationalScienceFoundation’sSTEMTalentExpansionPrograms(Kitchen,Son-
nert,&Sadler,2018)andan8-week,college-level,environmentalscienceprogram
(Romine&Sadler,2016).RelativelyshorterSTEMprograms,suchasa5-daypullout
primarySTEMprogram(Dickersonetal.,2014),andScienceOlympiadcompetition
experiences(Sahin,Gulacar,&Stuessy,2015),werefoundtobehelpfulforboosting
studentinterestinlearningscienceandSTEMcareers.
ItisworthnotingthattheeffectsofSTEMprogramsonstudents’scienceachieve-
ment,interest,self-efficacy,andcareerorientationareintertwined.Lambetal.(2015)
usedasurveyandstate-createdteststoexploretheinterplayamongstudentscience
content,cognitive,andaffectiveoutcomes.Theyconcludedthataffectivetraits(i.e.,
scienceinterestandself-efficacy)hadpositive,direct,andrecursiveeffectsonsci-
encecontentscores,whereascognitiveattributes(i.e.,spatialvisualizationandmental
rotation)hadpositive,direct,andlineareffectsonsciencecontentscores.Adedokun,
Bessenbacher,Parker,Kirkham,andBurgess(2013)studiedstudentsparticipatingin
along-term,faculty-mentoredinterdisciplinarySTEMresearchprogramandfound
that their research skills and research self-efficacy were good predictors for their
aspirationsforresearchcareers.
Despite the many promising outcomes, there were research findings related to
secondary students that showed conflicting results. Guzey et al. (2019) indicated
that, although the middle school students had significant learning gains after a 3-
yeardesign-focusedcourse,theirinterestinscienceandengineeringdidnotchange.
SchütteandKöller(2015)foundthata2-yearinterventionprogramimplementedas