Page 94 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

Systematic Support for STEM Pre-Service Teachers

graduate lack comprehension of even remedial mathematics (ACT, 2011), it is reported that 44% of
middle school students would rather take out the trash than do math homework (Research Now, 2012).
According to the 2012 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 40% of fourth graders
nationwide were proficient in math, and students across grade levels were especially weak in inquiry-
based science (Rosen, 2012).
The situation of STEM learning for minority students is even worse. The achievement gap between
white and minority students in mathematics and science is well documented in numerous research and
statistical reports (e.g., Condition of Education, The Nation’s Report Card, Science and Engineering Indi-
cators). According to statistics from the National Center for Educational Statistics and the NSF Division
Resources Statistics (National Research Council, 2011), white, Hispanic, and black students respectively
have a gain of 116 points, 113 points, and 101 points in average mathematic scores from kindergarten to
8th grade. By 5th grade, the gap between white and black students in average mathematics scores was 24
points, and the average score of black 5th grade students was equivalent to the average 3rd grade score
of white students. Similar mathematics achievement gaps persist through high school (Ingels, Pratt, Rog-
ers, Siegel, & Stutts, 2004; Riegle-Crumb & Grodsky, 2010). The educational shortfall is not limited to
a specific region, race, or socioeconomic group; it is a national problem (Gottfried & Williams, 2013).
The above alarming trends of low STEM learning outcomes and achievement gap go side by side
with K-12 students’ disinterest in STEM disciplines. As indicated by previous research, students begin
to lose interest in STEM near the middle school years (Finson & Enochs, 1987; Barmby, Kind, & Jones,
2008; Bennett & Hogarth, 2009). K-12 STEM education in the U.S. has to deal with three big chal-
lenges: improving student overall STEM learning outcomes, narrowing the STEM achievement gap,
and promoting student interest in STEM. Dealing with these three challenges, as the key to strengthen-
ing the U.S. STEM workforce pipeline, relies heavily on preparing qualified STEM teachers. Although
improving K-12 STEM education is indispensable of organizational elements, such as school leadership
and staff collaboration (CADRE, 2011), STEM teacher quality is essential because, working directly
with students on a daily basis, STEM teachers are the most active agents who can bring changes to the
K-12 STEM education landscape.
Professional development, as a widely accepted conventional and promising intervention to improve
teacher quality (Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Goldschmidt & Phelps, 2009), has assumed an important
role in preparing teachers for STEM education in the past decade. Teacher professional development is
a key mechanism not only for improving classroom instruction but also for improving student learning
outcomes (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Cohen & Hill, 2000; Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss, & Shapley, 2007).
A report on 1,300 studies addressing the effect of teacher professional development (Yoon, Duncan,
Lee, Scarloss, & Shapley, 2007) finds that teachers who receive substantial professional development
can boost their students’ achievement by 21 percentile points. However, although previous research
(e.g., Cunningham, Lachapelle, & Keenan, 2010; Diaconu, Radigan, Suskavcevic, & Nichol, 2012;
Hsu, Cardella, & Purzer, 2010; McDermott & DeWater, 2000; Supovitz, Mayers, & Kahle, 2000) has
yielded findings regarding the positive effects of STEM professional development, STEM professional
development was criticized to be “often short, fragmented, ineffective, and not designed to address the
specific need of individual teachers” (Wilson, 2011). The overall mixed record of STEM professional
development (CADRE, 2011) heightens the need to review the current practice of K-12 STEM profes-
sional development and to rethink about its future directions.

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