Preparing preservice elementary teachers to teach engineering: Impact on self‐efficacy and outcome expectancy

Abstract

Research indicates there is a need for teachers to experience multiple mastery experiences with engineering teaching in order to improve teaching engineering self‐efficacy. To prepare future K–5 teachers to teach the engineering design process, one science methods course integrated 2‐day engineering mini‐units into the class meeting and school‐based field experience. The preservice teachers participated as students in an exemplar mini‐unit and then designed their own mini‐unit, which they later taught to K–5 students. Pre‐ and post‐testing of the preservice teachers indicated significant improvement in engineering pedagogical content knowledge self‐efficacy, engagement self‐efficacy, and disciplinary self‐efficacy. Significant improvement was not observed in engineering outcome expectancy.

Engineering process as a focus: STEM professional development with elementary STEM‐focused professional development schools

“…Hence, not only was the KS increase statistically significant but also it was substantively meaningful as well. These results correspond to prior studies (e.g., Coppola, 2019;Hammack & Ivey, 2017) that revealed elementary preservice and inservice teachers report lower engineering teaching efficacy related to pedagogical content knowledge than for the other TESS constructs, and thus, this area has the greatest room for improvement.…”

“…Based on the results described previously, the STEM PD Program, which utilized a specific format and included distinctive components, had a positive influence on the teacher participants' engineering self-efficacy and incorporation of engineering activities within their classrooms. Research has stipulated the need to support the development of teacher pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987), particularly in the teaching of engineering (Coppola, 2019;Hammack & Ivey, 2017). An additional element for consideration when providing teachers with experiences in design and engineering is encouraging them to think creatively and to reflect deeply on their lessons (Nadelson, Pfiester, Callahan, & Pyke, 2015).…”

“…This distinction has resulted in the development of subject matter specific self-efficacy instruments. A widely used instrument specific to engineering is the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale (TESS) for K-12 Teachers (Coppola, 2019;Hammack & Ivey, 2017;Yoon, Evans, & Strobel, 2014). Yoon et al (2014) suggested that the TESS instrument allows for an examination of the ways in which programs modify teachers' engineering beliefs, attitudes, and behavior patterns.…”

Impacts of professional development focused on teaching engineering applications of mathematics and science

“…Research has shown that teacher efficacy is a strong indicator of how successful a teacher will be in the classroom (Cakiroglu et al, 2012). Extensive research has been conducted regarding teachers' science and mathematics teaching efficacy (Bleicher, 2004;Gresham, 2008;Morrell & Carroll, 2010;Swars et al, 2006;), and since the recent development of the Teaching Engineering Efficacy Scale (TESS; Yoon et al, 2014), studies related to teachers' engineering teaching efficacy are beginning to surface in the literature (Hammack & Ivey, 2017;Coppola, 2019;Fogg-Rogers et al, 2017). In a statewide study of Oklahoma elementary teachers, Hammack & Ivey (2017) found teachers scored themselves lowest in engineering pedagogical content knowledge self-efficacy (KS), slightly higher in engineering outcome expectancy (OE), and relatively high in the areas of engineering engagement self-efficacy (ES) and engineering disciplinary self-efficacy (DS).…”

“…This indicates teachers in the study felt more comfortable in their abilities to engage students and manage their classrooms during engineering lessons but were much less comfortable with their pedagogical content knowledge of how to identify and deliver engineering lessons. A few studies utilized TESS scores to determine the impacts of engineering-focused training on engineering teaching efficacy (Utley et al, 2019;Coppola, 2019;Fogg-Rogers et al, 2017). Utley et al, 2019) found that elementary teachers' overall engineering teaching efficacy as well as their KS, DS, and OE increased significantly after participating in a multiple day engineering-focused PD.…”