Impacts of a K–12 STEM Coach From Multiple Perspectives

• In Event: 66.033 - STEM in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

The ill-defined nature of STEM renders it difficult to implement in schools. This is particularly true when implementing across a K-12 school district as and the variety of contexts therein. In this study a STEM Coach was introduced to such a district to support all teachers as they incorporated STEM into their classrooms. Coding over 3000 excerpts from educator journals, interviews, observations, and other data we examined perspectives of the Coach role in the implementation. We found broad agreement of the importance of general roles such as planning, connecting, and teaching as well as some important differences by grade level and job description, suggesting that STEM Coaching needs to be responsive to the individual needs of teachers.

Authors

• Michael Giamellaro, Oregon State University

• Debbie Siegel

• Alyssa Lopez, Oregon State University - Cascades