Adaptive Teaching in STEM Fields

• In Event: An Examination of Adaptive Teaching: Exploring Democratic Spaces in Education

Abstract

Based on an in-depth case study of novice teacher, Amelia, we (1) define the process of adaptive teaching in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); (2) identify knowledge, skills, and dispositions that an adaptive teacher must possess; and (3) discuss how teacher educators and professional development providers can best support teachers in becoming adaptive teachers.

To conceptualize adaptive teaching in STEM, we draw on these perspectives: pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), constructivist orientation to teaching and learning, and reflection. Based on the premise that teachers draw on their PCK to make critical decisions impacting student learning (Kleickmann et al., 2013; Lee, 2010; Park et al., 2011; Shulman 1987), PCK is, not surprisingly, associated with teacher quality (Hattie, 2009; Leinhardt, 1986; Shulman, 1986; Torff & Sessions, 2009). PCK encompasses one’s understanding of instructional strategies and representations, and students' misconceptions (Shulman, 1986). A teacher’s STEM PCK encompasses her knowledge of: (a) students’ thinking, (b) instructional strategies for inquiry, and (c) real-world STEM-related connections (Saxton et al., 2014). Teachers who approach STEM teaching and learning from a constructivist paradigm, then, position themselves as facilitators of learning, engage in self-reflection, and promote reflection among their students (Watts, 2011) while using students’ perspectives as cues for providing classroom experiences that emerge from students’ sense-making (Brooks, 1999). In reconciling their PCK and constructivist paradigm with the realities of the classroom, novice teachers grapple with their instruction. Those who are able to draw on their visions for teaching (Hammerness, 2006) can negotiate and overcome instructional challenges.

A pre-study interview was conducted to capture Amelia’s vision for teaching. We observed 20 consecutive school days while Amelia taught an entire unit on magnetism and electricity. During daily pre- and post-lesson interviews Amelia provided insight about why and how she engaged in adaptive teaching. Her adaptations and rationales were corroborated with features of her vision.

Amelia’s adaptive teaching results in collaboration and problem solving among her students. She is skilled at watching and listening for learning to emerge as students tinker with materials and ideas. Amelia’s STEM PCK, commitment to a constructivist paradigm for teaching and learning, and ability to draw upon her vision for teaching assisted Amelia in being an adaptive, and therefore, effective novice teacher.

Teacher educators and professional development providers can develop PCK in novice STEM teachers by adopting a transformative model of PCK in which a mechanism exists for developing PCK as a unique type of knowledge, making explicit what PCK is (Nilsson & Loughran, 2012), and by attending to the emotional aspects of becoming and being a STEM teacher (Kind, 2009).

Teacher educators and professional development providers must support STEM teachers’ implementation of inquiry and critical reflection on the constructivist paradigm. To accomplish this, Clough, Berg, and Olson (2009) advance a decision-making framework that bridges the chasm between research and practice related to educational perspectives and approaches such as constructivism that can be used during teacher education, mentoring relationships, and in-service professional development.

Authors

• Melony H Allen, Georgia Southern University

• Angela W. Webb, Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge

• Catherine E. Matthews, University of North Carolina - Greensboro