Transforming Integrative Makerspace Education for STEM Pre-service Teachers

该项目旨在通过专注于整合创客空间教学法，提高职前教师（教育学院专业）STEM教育的质量和有效性，为国家利益服务。创客空间教育让学生们用自己的双手共同创造、学习、探索和分享，以促进他们在STEM领域的学习和成功。教育和STEM学院将合作，将创客空间教学法整合到10个跨学科教育核心和方法课程中，以强调STEM体验学习。虽然该项目主要针对基础教育专业的本科生，但准备4-8年级或7-12年级教师资格认证的本科职前教师也可以从这些必修课程的课程改进中受益。该项目旨在通过开发、实施和评估教师发展、互动教学和STEM课程计划开发来建立关于教与学的知识。该项目提供了一个宝贵的机会，通过使用跨学科的方法将STEM概念正式整合到整个职前教师课程中，从而提高STEM思维技能。该项目利用了Point Park大学（PPR）的创客空间实验室。然而，这个项目的设计是这样的，其他高等教育机构应该能够复制这个项目，无论是否有一个实体的创客空间实验室，因为项目的发现和“创客心态”是被采用的。社区合作伙伴，匹兹堡儿童博物馆、马特创客空间组织和阿勒格尼中级单位，将为PPR教育学院和自然科学、工程和技术系的教师提供创客教学法专业发展。这些教师将在创客空间参加10-15次STEM学习专业发展会议，然后修改10门课程的课程内容，并为作业开发课程和评估。利用定性研究方法，该项目打算调查以下研究问题：在创客空间环境中，职前教师和教职员工认为STEM学习和教学的教学增长领域是什么？本研究旨在通过跨学科的建构主义方法，强调创客空间教学法对改善STEM教育学习成果的影响。该项目预计将产生乘数效应，因为它将影响PPU的STEM学科和教育教师、职前教师和其他大学的教师准备项目，这些项目将从PPU学到的知识中受益。最终，在创客教学法和STEM内容的指导下，准备充分的职前教师的未来学生将有潜力培养更高水平的思维技能，提高他们的数学和科学成就，这对21世纪的STEM劳动力至关重要。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。Robert Noyce教师奖学金（Noyce）计划为IUSE: EHR项目提供联合资金，以支持该项目的职前教师准备目标，该目标与Noyce计划目标非常一致。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest of improving the quality and effectiveness of STEM education for pre-service teachers (education college majors) through a focus on integration of makerspace pedagogy. Makerspace education involves students working with their hands collaboratively to make, learn, explore, and share to advance their learning and success in STEM areas. Education and STEM faculty will collaborate to integrate makerspace pedagogy into 10 interdisciplinary education core and methods courses to emphasize STEM experiential learning. While this project primarily focuses on undergraduate students majoring in elementary education, undergraduate pre-service teachers preparing for teacher certification in grades 4-8 or 7-12 may also benefit from curricular improvements in these required courses. The project intends to build knowledge about teaching and learning by developing, implementing, and assessing faculty development, interactive instruction, and STEM lesson plan development. This project offers a valuable opportunity to improve STEM thinking skills by formally integrating STEM concepts throughout the pre-service teacher curriculum using an interdisciplinary approach. The project utilizes a makerspace laboratory at Point Park University (PPR). However, the project design is such that other institutions of higher education should be able to replicate the program with or without a physical makerspace lab as the project’s findings and “maker mindset” are employed.Community partners, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Matt’s Makerspace Organization, and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, will provide maker pedagogy professional development to PPR faculty in the School of Education and the Department of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology. These faculty members will attend 10-15 professional development sessions in STEM learning in makerspaces, and then revise the course content of 10 courses, as well as develop lessons and assessments for the assignments. Utilizing qualitative research methodology, the project intends to investigate the following research question: What do pre-service teachers and faculty members identify as areas of pedagogical growth in STEM learning and teaching in a makerspace environment? This research aims to highlight the impact of makerspace pedagogy on improving STEM education learning outcomes through an interdisciplinary constructivist approach. The project is expected to have a multiplier effect as it impacts STEM disciplinary and education faculty at PPU, pre-service teachers, and teacher preparation programs at other universities that benefit from what is learned at PPU. Ultimately, the future students of the well-prepared pre-service teachers steeped in maker pedagogy and STEM content will have the potential to develop higher level thinking skills and improve their mathematics and scientific achievement, which are essential for the 21st century STEM workforce. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship (Noyce) Program is providing co-funding for this IUSE: EHR project to support the project's preservice teacher preparation goals, which are well-aligned with Noyce Program goals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.