Case Study of Teacher Training for Project STEM Course

Abstract

Educators are paying more attention to students' hands-on ability with critical thinking which has not been emphasized in previous Chinese education system. To fill this gap, there is a need to organize a hands-on workshop to develop teachers’ STEM hands-on skills to promote on high school campus. Therefore, the purposes of this study are: 1. exploring the development status of teachers' hands-on ability after ending the workshop and 2. exploring the effectiveness of the project-based STEM training with interdisciplinary concept content compared with the traditional STEM training. Based on the two-day teacher training of STEM workshop, this paper used Flanders interaction analysis which is an observation technique used to record and analyze the process and impact of teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Through the analysis, we found that the learners were active in this training course, the interaction between teachers and learners was very frequent, and the relationship between them was quite consistent (harmonious). Then we inferred the training effect of the teachers in the training by combining the works or results submitted by the learners after the workshop. The error rate of these exercises or results was low, indicating that peer discussion or group discussion played an important role in the process of practice. Compared with the traditional iFIAS method, it can be found that in the training based on the project-based teaching model, learners' advanced cognitive abilities such as analysis and synthesis were developed, and their knowledge transfer ability was more flexible, which was also a reflection of interdisciplinary ability.

Comparing STEM Education in the United States and Mainland China

“…The essential principle of a scene-based teaching approach has not been altered; consequently, it does not matter if the course materials are in the form of slides or cartoons . Only 27.1% of Chinese schools design their own curricula; 58.3% of those that offer STEM courses receive their materials from education research groups or technology businesses [13].…”

“…Beijing is home to the STEM Education Research Center. In light of China's present political and economic situation, business professionals and academics have established a 10-year plan to promote STEM education [13]. Furthermore, it…”

“…Teachers of STEM disciplines in China are obliged to set regulations, verify their students' compliance with such policies, and supervise their students' cognitive learning processes [13]. The development of problem-solving skills by pupils in accordance with the prerequisites for developing creative talents typically correlates to students passing through distinct developmental phases.…”

“…When examined in the perspective of practice, STEM education in China reignites a discussion of the country's ethical challenges. According to [13], making ethically correct judgments that result in 'good' or 'right' consequences for others or for one's own life is what the study implies. The focus that will be placed on problem-solving, interdisciplinary learning, and project-based learning will be distinct from the worldwide emphasis that is placed on STEM education and single-subject instruction.…”

“…The focus that will be placed on problem-solving, interdisciplinary learning, and project-based learning will be distinct from the worldwide emphasis that is placed on STEM education and single-subject instruction. It facilitates the transition from science education to education in STEM+ sectors [13].…”