New Perspectives in Science Education

Teacher professional development (TPD) plays a crucial role in developing effective teachers, which in turn, when transferred to teaching practice, impacts student learning process and outcomes (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017). In Qatar, while several have been identified in K12 STEM Science Technology Engineering Mathematics education concerning student lack of motivation and interests (Said, 2016), limited actions have been taken on STEM teacher professional development. Therefore, this study aims to explore how K12 STEM teachers may be supported to develop their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge TPACK in a Project Based-Learning PBL based TPD program. The study also explore what socio-cultural factors may impact this development. In particular, the following research questions will guide the subproject: 1) In which ways K12 STEM teachers develop TPACK in a PBL based teacher professional development program? 2) What factors contribute to and constrain the STEM teachers’ development of TPACK through participating in a PBL based teacher professional development program?

Following the objectives of this project, three phases are included for data generation. Phase 1 (Exploration): Identifying K12 science and Math teachers’ TPACK related to STEM in Qatar

Phase 2 (Development and Implementation TPD): Developing and implementing a PBL-based TPD for teachers in TPACK related to STEM.

Phase (Evaluation) 3: Evaluating the outcome of the PBL-based TPD program on teachers’ views and practices about the successful implementation of STEM in the classroom through TPACK.

The paper presents at this conference will report on the findings of Phase 1.

The TPACK measures survey is a self-reported questionnaire developed by Sang, Tondeur, Chai & Dong (2016) in a developing country societal context (China) with an aim to improve the quality of teacher taskforce serving for the development of the nation’s economy and education. Therefore, the survey is relevant for the needs in Qatar. Participants in this subproject are K12 science and math teachers working in Qatari Govenmental Schools. A convenient sampling strategy, which is often used for educational research method.

References

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.

Said, Z. (2016) Science Education Reform in Qatar: Progress and Challenges, Eurasia Journal of Math, Science & Technology Education, 12(8), 2253-2265.

Sang, G., Tondeur, J., Chai, C. S., & Dong, Y. (2016). Validation and profile of Chinese pre-service teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge scale. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 44(1), 49-65.