Blended Implementation of Existing Precollege Engineering Programs: Teacher Perspectives of Program Impact

Abstract

Contribution: This work examines the impact of a unique precollege STEM education initiative during its two pilot years. The study contributes to the growing body of research by unpacking the needs of and the impact on an important stakeholder group (i.e., the teachers) in the engineering education ecosystem to help inform the future design and development of teacher professional learning models. Background: Efforts to provide precollege students with engineering or robotics-specific experiences are on the rise. These efforts are typically undertaken independently of one another. A first-of-its-kind collaboration between two precollege STEM initiatives aimed to break down existing silos between programs and offer a blended engineering and robotics curriculum targeting underserved schools. Research Questions: 1) How does a program designed to blend two existing engineering and robotics programs at the secondary school level impact teachers? and 2) What program elements are deemed valuable by participating teachers who are implementing a blended engineering and robotics program at the secondary school level? Methodology: Four focus groups were conducted with teachers (n = 16) over a period of two years. Data was analyzed using open coding and constant comparison methods. Findings: Four themes of growing confidence, exercising agency, responsive professional development, and support structures emerged across the four datasets. Collectively these themes capture pragmatic understandings of offering a new, blended precollege STEM program and advance an argument for the involvement of all stakeholders to support the teachers.