The Complex Process of Instituting Educational Change for STEM Learning

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Achieving Educational Change: The Cases of Collaborative Inquiry, STEM Education, Equity, and Reading Achievement

Abstract

Educational change is complex and multi-dimensional, although it is often conceptualized as a simple, linear chain of events. Successful interventions require sophisticated approaches to the change process. The NSF project described in this research was designed by a Northeastern university, and represents a collaborative research endeavor with 13 Title I schools to prepare teachers to design standards-aligned STEM projects for their students. The model addresses key change elements with a situated professional development approach. At the end of Year 2, data shows teacher-reported shifts in four key areas: use of standards, use of technology, project assessment, and problems relevant to the school community, as well as the development and implementation of sophisticated STEM projects.

Authors

• Ellen B. Meier, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Karen Kirsch Page, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Sean Peters

• Sharmin A. Hakim, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Lucy Smith, Teachers College, Columbia University