Enhancing STEM Learning in Pre-K-12 Education: A Multifaceted Approach to Supporting Students and Training Teachers

Smith, Hannah

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Enhancing STEM Learning in Pre-K-12 Education: A Multifaceted Approach to Supporting Students and Training Teachers

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STEM skills are predictive of later success. Specifically, early math skills predict later math achievement. Further, children who have access to research-based STEM learning activities show higher levels of STEM achievement. However, teachers still spend the majority of time on subjects other than STEM subjects and many students enter school with lower science and math scores than other subjects. To address this problem, it is important to consider multiple facets of education; these include students and the systems they use in learning as well as teachers and how they are trained to effectively implement STEM activities in the classroom. As Pre-K-12 education is continuing to rely more and more on virtual platforms to assist in learning, it is important to study what support we can provide to students within these online settings to increase their math learning. This manuscript-style dissertation focuses on both the student and teacher aspects of STEM learning, through three studies. The first two studies explore how we can support students as they complete online Math assignments. The final study focuses on how we can improve teacher attitudes and confidence toward STEM teaching and explores how teachers implement STEM activities from a professional development program.

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