The Relationship Between Teachers' STEM Beliefs and Enacted Instruction Within an Intensive STEM Academy

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Investigating Teaching in Formal and Informal STEM Contexts

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to understand the interplay between teachers’ STEM beliefs and their enacted instructional practices over time within the context of an intensive professional development (PD). Teachers participated in summer PD and received frequent coaching during the school year. We collected multi-wave data on teachers’ self-efficacy, perceived confidence in and importance of implementing STEM instructional strategies, and observational data. We fit linear growth curve models to examine the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and enacted instruction over time. Results indicate that change rates in science self-efficacy were most related to changes in teachers’ enacted instruction. Furthermore, we found pedagogical content knowledge was a significant predictor of self-efficacy, but not teachers’ use of STEM instructional strategies.

Authors

• Elizabeth Lynn Adams, Southern Methodist University

• Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Southern Methodist University

• Anthony Sparks, Southern Methodist University

• Tryna Knox, Southern Methodist University