STEM Teacher Preparation and Practice for the 21st Century:
Research-based Insights introduces the reader to a collection of
thoughtful, research-based works by authors that represent current
thinking about the future of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics or STEM as it known today, as well as STEM education for a
rapidly evolving global society and the preparation of STEM teachers to
meet the educational needs of a changing educational landscape. Each
chapter focuses on STEM teaching and the preparation of teachers who
will enter classrooms to instruct the next generation of students in
STEM.
Research in the learning sciences focuses on the cognitive,
epistemological, and socio-cultural characteristics of scientific and
engineering research communities in their efforts to improve Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. STEM
education is a means to help individuals develop different strategies in
order to solve interdisciplinary problems and gain skills and knowledge
as they are engaged with STEM related activities through formal and
informal learning programs.
Research also suggests that STEM may well stand as the new general
education for the 21st century. In much of the current
discourse on teacher quality and preparation, two essential points for
consideration have emerged: the strength of the relationship between
teacher content knowledge and student achievement, and the specific
representations of knowledge that are most conducive to effective
teaching. Add to these two points one additional: the nature of
transforming a chaotic system of discreet preparation and clinical
experiences into a coherent, aligned and logical system of continuous
and progressive development and support throughout a teacher's career.
These three points apply to STEM teacher preparation, induction and
professional learning as well as to teacher preparation, induction and
professional learning in general.
Importantly, the contributing authors to this book have brought to the
foreground research-based insights concerning STEM teacher preparation.
Each chapter presents clear paths to understanding and reimagining STEM
teaching and the importance of STEM teacher preparation, acknowledging
the value of STEM literacy and the interdisciplinary nature of STEM
teaching.
