Creating New STEM Opportunities in Schools: Teachers as Curriculum Designers

With the recent interest in STEM education in Australia, more teachers are keen to investigate how integrated STEM curriculum can prepare students with twenty-first century skills and capabilities. Since 2014 we have delivered a year-long professional development program to assist school-based teams of primary and secondary school teachers design and implement integrated STEM curriculum suitable for their students. Teacher participants have a range of experience and work in a diversity of school types, of school locations, and of school size and socio-economic status. To establish the impact of the professional learning on teachers, surveys measuring teacher efficacy, teacher outcome expectancies, pedagogical practices and STEM career awareness were administered before and after each STEM professional development program. Results reveal statistically significant changes in teacher efficacy, outcome expectancies and STEM career awareness with large effect sizes. Additionally, significant changes in teaching practices were reported with changes in curriculum design and delivery, increased use of small group problem solving through inquiry, increased student engagement, and increased opportunities for student reasoning.