Wednesday 23 November 2022.11:30am - 12:30pm


Jing Guo, Qiaoping Zhang

Hong Kong teachers’ perceptions of STEM integration: an exploratory study

Contact Author: Qiaoping Zhang (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Department of Mathematics and Information Technology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The theoretical rationale of STEM education has originated from the curriculum integration theories. Numerous studies have discussed the integration of STEM education in covering the interconnected nature of the four disciplines and real-life problems. Three approaches have been widely mentioned, which included multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary (Vasquez et al., 2013). Although teachers play a core role in designing and implementing STEM pedagogy at schools, little research explored mathematics teachers’ views of STEM. Hence, this exploratory study aims to explore mathematics teachers’ perceptions of STEM education to address the issue. Specifically, the study sought to describe the concerns and challenges faced by Hong Kong mathematics teachers in implementing STEM education, and to expand our understanding of implementing STEM education in mathematics teaching.

Kate Wilson

Implementing an integrated STEM program for girls: one school’s journey

Contact Author: Kate Wilson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Although there has been acknowledgement that inspiring girls to become more engaged in STEM education and to aspire towards a career in the STEM workforce, they have continued to opt out in large numbers and at the earliest opportunity (Kennedy, Quinn, & Lyons, 2020). To determine reasons for this and to identify programs and practices that would facilitate girls’ positive attitudes to STEM, this study investigated how a year-long professional learning program supported teams of primary school teachers design and implement integrated STEM programs for their students (Anderson & Tully, 2020). Although the overall study explored the approaches of six schools, this presentation will detail the journey of one school and describe how their team of teachers worked collaboratively to facilitate change in STEM curriculum and pedagogical approaches to support change in attitudes and aspirations for their female students.