Teacher Narratives Integrating Robotics as Evidence and Advancement of Professional Learning in STEM Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: How Teachers Learn to Enact Equitable and Socially Just STEM Instruction (Table 14)

Abstract

While most professional development activities resemble ‘expert to novice’ approaches, our study investigates STEM teachers' contributions as ‘design partners’ in advancing professional pedagogical knowledge through creating phenomenological narratives. Teacher narratives capture the complexities of organizing lessons, planning for instruction, making micro-level adjustments while teaching, and linking student learning back to pedagogical decisions; and in the process, creating narratives becomes a conduit for teacher professional learning. In our three-week professional development summer program, teachers learned STEM pedagogy, computer programming, LEGO Robotics, and collaboratively designed lessons for their classrooms with teacher practitioners and STEM university faculty. Using analytical frameworks for assessing student learning and ‘design-based’ professional practice, we analyzed video of teachers’ narratives from integrating robotics lessons during the school year.

Author

• Adam Devitt, California State University - Stanislaus