Teacher Expertise Impacts STEM Integration

By Cassandra Hatfield

When I first began my teaching career, I thought my job was to stand and deliver the content, after all, I was the expert. However, since then I have learned that students have their own ideas and are able to solve problems using multiple different strategies. In fact, students need the opportunity to discuss, discover, and grapple with concepts in their own ways. (Walkington & Lucero, 2014)

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To provide students with this opportunity, educators must transition from isolation to integration. The new mathematics Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the accompanying training provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) (2014) sets the expectation for teachers to focus on “larger ideas and mathematical themes rather than on smaller clusters or isolated skills.” The mathematical content is the bricks and the Mathematical Process Standards are the mortar. This brick and mortar structure supports students in going beyond procedures into becoming the problem solvers they will need to be in the workplace. As this picture depicts, mathematics can be messy. The process of learning mathematics is more than memorizing procedures and getting a right answer.
The integration of mathematical themes through the content and process standards provides a prime opportunity for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) integration within PK-12 education. However, “current data on school readiness and early math and science achievement indicate we are not giving young children the support they need to be ‘STEM Smart’” (Stem Smart Brief, 2013).

In order to support students in being STEM smart and competitive globally, the United States must break through a critical barrier. Teachers are not sufficiently trained to teach curriculum at a high level. “It is not only the curriculum but also the delivery that determines whether students engage with challenging material” (Stem Smart Brief, 2011).  Teachers are delivering the curriculum instead of facilitating the learning of the curriculum. Strong problem based, inquiry-learning materials are available to support teachers in becoming facilitators of student learning. 

http://education.ti.com/en/us/professioal
-development/summer-workshops

Spark 101 provides teachers with best practice webinars to support them in building their capacity to facilitate this type of learning. They extend the teacher professional development by providing video case studies to spark student interest in content that integrates STEM. Teachers can also engage in training through Texas Instruments (TI) that will support them in using advanced features of calculators to facilitate student learning. TI offers a variety of trainings via the web and in person. TI values the interconnectedness between instructional practices, content knowledge,    
and technology use.

Supporting teachers in being able to effectively integrate STEM, the Mathematical Content Standards, and the Mathematical Process Standards is a critical step in helping our nation become more competitive globally. This critical step needs to be at the forefront for our nation’s leaders since they believe we need to become more competitive globally. After all, teachers can only teach what they know. It is the educational leaderships’ responsibility to ensure that teachers are provided the best professional development. In turn, teachers can make a bigger difference.

STEM Smart Brief. (2013). Nurturing STEM Skills in Young Learners, PreK-3.

STEM Smart Brief. (2011). Raising the Bar: Increasing STEM Achievement for All Students. 

Texas Education Agency (2014). The Revised Math TEKS (2012): Applying the Mathematical Process Standards.

Walkington, C., & Lucero, M., (2014). Educator Guidebook: How to Get Your Students Interested in Pursuing STEM Careers.