TITLE:
Incorporating Pre-Service Teachers and Middle School Students in Learning Advanced Integrative STEM Programs
AUTHORS:
Nayif Awad
KEYWORDS:
Middle School Students, STEM Education, Sound Waves, Teachers’ College
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.11 No.4,
April
28,
2020
ABSTRACT: To address the lack of interdisciplinary programs that combine science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the sound, waves and communication systems (SWCS) program was developed and implemented with different populations: three in-service schoolteachers, 60 pre-service teachers in a college for teacher education, and 120 middle school students. In addition, six pre-service teachers who had learned the swcs course worked in coordination with in-service teachers and taught the course for middle school students. This article presents the program’s development and effects, focusing on examining motivational and achievement outcomes. The study aimed at investigating the extent to which participants (both pre-service teachers and school students) could learn/teach an interdisciplinary program, and how the swcs program could affect learners’ knowledge and their attitudes towards science class. The study used the mixed method combining both quantitative and qualitative tools. The main results highlight learners’ high motivation and knowledge acquisition in learning the program. However, learners still face difficulties, for example, in developing projects and dealing with alternative ideas. Furthermore, the study points to the potential that lies in integrating pre-service teachers in dual learning and teaching experiences.