Assessing the Effects of Authentic Experiential Learning Activities on Teacher Confidence with Engineering Concepts

There is a growing concern in the US about the lack of student interest and aptitude in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Research indicates that engineering and technology integration in K-12 improve students’ content understanding and skill development, understanding of interactions among the STEM disciplines, and interest in STEM careers [1-6]. Many in-service STEM teachers have limited experience and/or educational background in engineering and technology. These teachers have limited confidence to incorporate engineering and technology in their classroom. At a professional development (PD) workshop, that is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded engineering research project, teachers from different school districts were invited to learn building automation and additive manufacturing at a university campus in summer 2017. The overall goal of the project is to increase the number of students on the STEM pathway. This work reports the findings of a study that explored the effectiveness of a teacher PD workshop implemented in the first year of the project. In the PD workshop teachers engaged in authentic engineering design activities using 3D printers and the internet of things technologies. In this two-week program, teachers were trained to use computer-aided design tools, additive manufacturing processes, and how to integrate sensors into various devices. University faculty and students, who administered the workshop, illustrated how to effectively incorporate these technologies and engineering design principles into their classrooms. The main question posed was: to what extent do the teachers’ participation in the professional development activities affect their confidence and efficacy toward STEM and perception of engineering and teaching? To answer this question, authors employed a preand post-test survey research design was employed; data were collected from the participants before and after the PD workshop activities. The Design, Engineering and Technology (DET) Survey and Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM Survey (TSTEM) were administered to participants. DET is a five-point Likert scale with 40 items. This instrument focuses on capturing the participants’ views and familiarity with DET concepts. The T_STEM survey is a 5 point Likert scale with 36 items. The T_STEM survey measures participants’ confidence and efficacy towards STEM fields, 21st century learning, and other constructs. Quantitative data and statistical analyses of pre and post workshop data are presented. Introduction There is a recognition that the United States does not produce enough students that have sufficient interest and aptitude Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)[3]. The need to create this interest and understanding begins in the elementary and high school years. As more engineering and technical content is required in state [7] and national standards [8], there is a need for teachers to become well-versed in these areas. While many teachers may have studied math or science as undergraduates, they likely have less experience with engineering and technology. This work examines the effects of a two week professional development (PD) workshop for junior high and high school teachers to introduce them to technology and engineering. One way of promoting STEM is to demonstrate its relevance to the students [9]. In the case of the professional development workshop, this relevance was provided by using two interesting and often discussed technologies: the Internet of Things (IoT) and additive manufacturing (often called 3D printing). The goal of the workshop was to have the teachers create authentic experiential learning activities for their students that they would implement during the school year. Authentic problems are those which have a goal that is not directly related to the course or educational context [10]. Authentic activities are often open ended and the end results of the activities are not yet known by the teachers and the textbooks [11]. Students’ personal experiences and interests guide the design and implementation of these activities instead of the standardized curriculum guides or documents. Experiential learning allows students to create knowledge “through the transformation of experience” [12]. In this case, the experience would be a design activity involving IoT and 3D printing. This teacher workshop is part of a broader National Science Foundation Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers. These projects are funded with proceeds of the H1-B visa program and attempt to promote STEM interest. This paper details the professional development workshop instruction, the instruments used to evaluate the understanding and interest in STEM among the participating teachers, an additional survey, and the post workshop support that the teachers received to implement their activities. Background The National Research Council (2012) emphasizes the importance of exposing K-12 students to engineering-related activities in classrooms [13]. Research indicates that engineering practice and technology integration in K-12 improves students’ content understanding and makes them more aware of what engineers do, skill development, understanding of interactions among the STEM disciplines, and interest in STEM careers [14]. One obstacle to the progress of the integration of engineering content into K-12 STEM education is lack of teachers prepared to teach science or engineering [15, 16]. Whenever the teachers are not prepared to teach STEM themes, they are not comfortable with teaching a topic, and they prefer not to teach the topic, or teach the subject in a superficial manner [17]. Since the teachers have a paramount impact on students’ future career choices, the first step to enhance students’ interest in STEM fields is to improve teachers’ confidence and self-efficacy with engineering and STEM concepts. Once teachers have a chance to learn and implement engineering principles, they are comfortable sharing this knowledge with their students and can present the connections between math, science, and engineering and the real world [18]. In light of these issues, it’s critical to develop professional development activities to expose teachers to authentic experiential learning activities and help teachers to improve their abilities and knowledge in these areas. Researchers have reported that professional development programs can be effectively used to expose teachers to engineering and STEM concepts [19, 20]. In addition, these programs help teachers to improve their content knowledge in order to develop confidence and attitudes toward engineering [14, 21]. However, there have been limited engineering professional development programs for teachers [21]. Stevens and Schlossberg designed professional development activities related to STEM for teachers at Florida Atlantic University [22]. In Stevens and Schlossberg’s study, they attempted to engage teachers with real world technological problems and enhance teamwork and creative thinking among participants and ultimately develop their skills [22]. A number of universities have developed professional development activities and workshops for teachers [18]. For example, the University of Florida developed a twoweek summer program and invited K–12 teachers to engage in engineering activities and learn to implement these activities in their classrooms [23]. The Iowa State University College of Engineering designed a program for K–12 teachers that delivered technological literacy, and helped teachers to integrate engineering principles into their curriculum [24]. Dortmund College planned and implemented a summer short course to introduce high school educators to engineering problem solving [25]. It was noted that a short course was offered at first as a summer workshop for in-service teachers with future plans to offer courses to preservice teachers. Teacher Summer Workshop The workshop was a two week residential program that took place at Texas A&M University. A total of 12 teachers participated in the two-week program. The program began each day at 8:30AM and continued until 5:30 or 6:00 PM. There was a 30 to 45 minute break for lunch each day. The section below details the content of the workshop. Building Automation The concept behind this project was to use building automation as a concrete example of a STEM field to excite students about the possibility of STEM and engineering careers. Building automation was specifically chosen due to the impact it has on everyday lives, its ties to sustainable energy, and its ease of understanding for students in junior high and high school. To this end, teachers were introduced to the field of building automation (BA) through a two-pronged approach. The workshop team enlisted the help of Schneider Electric, a well-known company in the BA industry and leveraged their “Energy University.” Energy University is a free, webbased education portal supported by Schneider that supports energy education. Each teacher in the workshop was required to take four separate online courses on building automation and sustainable energy prior to attending the workshop. In this manner, the cohort came in with a basic knowledge of vocabulary, concepts and tools used in the building automation industry. At the beginning of the workshop a short tutorial was presented to reinforce concepts from the online courses and help the teachers develop an appreciation for building automation as a platform for motivating STEM career paths in the classroom. The tutorial was broken down into several components: Defining Building Automation: The vocabulary and the concepts introduced in the online coursework were revisited and placed in the context of real building automation systems as found in public buildings such as schools. Tying Building Automation to Sustainable Energy: An area that resonates with today’s