Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.

… 103
Journal of Turkish Science Education July 2016, 13(Special Issue), 103-117
http://www.tused.org ISSN:1304-6020

STEM Education Program for Science Teachers:

Perceptions and Competencies *

Esra BOZKURT ALTAN1 , Serhat ERCAN1
1
Assistant Prof. Dr., Sinop University, Faculty of Education, Sinop-TURKEY

Received: 30.01.2016 Revised: 30.05.2016 Accepted: 15.06.2016

The original language of article is English (Special Issue, July 2016, pp.103-117, doi: 10.12973/tused.10174a)

ABSTRACT
This study focused on the professional development activities carried out at Sinop University during the
summer of 2015. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of the professional development
program on the participating science teachers’ perceptions and competencies as they relate to STEM
education. 24 science teachers were participated the program which was organized to promote their
acquisition of the competencies necessary for the development and implementation of original activities
suitable for STEM education. The study was carried out through qualitative paradigm. One of the data
sources used was to “Teachers’ Perceptions on STEM Education Questionnaire”. STEM education
teaching plans which were developed by teachers during the program were the other data sources used by
the study. Findings from the TPSEQ suggest that the professional development program positively
affected teachers’ views of STEM education. Additionally, after the professional development program,
participating teachers made suggestions for the (engineering) design based science instruction for the
adaption of STEM education. It can be suggested that in-service training programs should be developed
for teachers to raise their awareness of the necessity of STEM education and to enhance their
competencies in planning, implementation and evaluation of an instructional process suitable for this
approach.

Keywords: STEM Education; Interdisciplinary Education; Science Education.

INTRODUCTION
We live in a century in which developments in the fields of science, technology,
engineering and mathematics affect almost every part of our modern life (Brophy, Klein,
Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008; NRC [National Research Council], 2012; NGGS [Next
Generations Science Standards], 2013). The impact of technological innovation brought about
by developments occurring in the fields of science and technology and economic growth is
getting bigger and bigger. It is necessary to adapt to these developments, which are occurring
at an overwhelming speed and which are exercising influences on countries (International
Technology Education Association [ITEA], 2007). This encourages countries to train the
engineers and scientists of the future (Miaoulis, 2009) and to improve the literacy of the
society in these fields (Miaoulis, 2009; Roehrig, Wang, Moore & Park, 2012).
In recent years, at the root of the reform movements in the field of education was
concerned with the restructuring of the educational programs and was directed at the
integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines (STEM) at K-12


* This study was presented as abstract submission of 6th WCLTA (2015)

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]
104 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

level (Asghar, Ellington, Rice, Johnson & Prime, 2012; NAE, 2010; NAE and NRC, 2009;
Williams, 2011;) demonstrating that the issue has been addressed by the policies developed
by countries.
STEM education invests efforts to integrate the disciplines of science, technology,
engineering and mathematics by establishing connections between real-life problems; that is,
the problems are multi-disciplinary. On the basis of the implementation of these disciplines to
real-life problems, borders between the disciplines should be abolished. Each STEM
discipline brings a different competency and viewpoint but as in real life, for a successful
team, teamwork is the key term (NAE & NRC, 2009; Wang, 2012). This approach points out
integrated education programs capitalizing on the knowledge and skills of every discipline
(Roberts, 2012). However, given the current elements of education programs, it is clear that
adoption of such an approach requires the restructuring of many elements ranging from the
training of STEM teachers, changing the structure of education programs from the revision of
measurement-evaluation methods and the cost and time of making such big changes stand as
an barrier in front of this reform (Bybee, 2010; NAE & NRC, 2009; NRC, 2012). Though
America and many European countries have already started to make these changes required
by STEM education, research suggests different approaches for the implementation of STEM
education within the context of current circumstances (Bybee, 2010; Dugger, 2010; Sanders,
2009). These approaches suggest different combinations of the disciplines such as putting the
main emphasis on science and mathematics and keeping technology and engineering
secondary, embedding each discipline into another or incorporation of all the other STEM
disciplines into one of them. The approach most suitable for meeting the expectations from
STEM education is the one entailing the incorporation of the others into one of the STEM
disciplines; for example, integration of mathematics, engineering and technology into the
science program.
The professional development of teachers is important to STEM education. Teacher
professional development programs will need to provide learning opportunities for teachers
themselves in order to deepen their conceptual understanding, engage in scientific and
engineering practices, and develop an appreciation of science as a way of knowing in a
community of knowledge builders (NRC, 2012). Research has identified that professional
development is important in STEM Education (Apedoe, Reynold, Ellefson ve Schunn 2008;
Capobianco, 2011; Capobianco, 2013; Cuijck, Keulen, Jochems, 2009; Felix, 2010; Hsu,
Purzer, Cardella 2011).
This study focused on the professional development program carried out at Sinop
University during the summer of 2015. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects
of the professional development program on the participating science teachers’ perceptions
and competencies as they relate to STEM education.
.
METHODOLOGY
The current study aims to investigate the effects of the professional development
program on the participating science teachers’ perceptions and competencies as they relate to
STEM education. The study was carried out through qualitative paradigm

a) Study Group
The study group of the current research is 24 science teachers (14 females, 8 males)
determined by means of purposive sampling selection method. Initially, a web site was
designed to inform the participants about the professional development program. The program
was publicized on social networking sites subscribed to by science teachers and the link to the
website was shared. Teachers made online applications to the program. The applications were
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 105

classified according to criteria including the length of time an individual has been teacher, the
city in which the school is located and whether or not there had been previous participation in
a similar program. Following these considerations selection was made among the teachers in
such a way as to construct a heterogeneous sample in terms of the selection criteria. The
science teachers constituting the study group are from seven different regions of the country
and have a length of service ranging from 1 year to 15 years. None of the teachers have
participated in a similar program before.

b) Context of the Study

A nine-day professional development program was organized to promote the science
teachers’ acquisition of the competencies necessary for the development and implementation
of the original activities suitable for STEM education. The professional development program
[STEM Education Approach: Strengthening of Science Classes through Interdisciplinary
Ties] was supported by TÜBİTAK. The program was conducted at Sinop University between
21-29 August 2015. The date of the program was the last period of the teachers’ summer
holiday. The program consisted of theoretical and applied activities designed to promote the
teachers’ understanding of the nature of STEM and its’ implementation of it in their science
classes. While STEM Educations’ Theory and Implementation, STEM Education and the
Characteristics of Future Teachers, The Nature of Science and Engineering and The
Applicability of STEM in Science Education were the theoretical activities of the program.
Robotic applications and calculative thinking, the use of probes, science instruction through
lego pieces, designing an environmentally friendly living space, designing a solar vehicle,
fixing of a coordinate with GPS, generating water hardness and intensity maps, deterioration
and storage conditions of water products and design-based science implementation were the
applied activities in which the teachers actively participated. The activities were conducted by
15 specialized and experienced academicians from 7 different universities.

c) Data Collection and Analysis Process

The data of the current study were collected through “Teachers’ Perceptions on STEM
Education Questionnaire” developed by the researchers and STEM teaching plans developed
by the participants.
Teachers’ Perceptions on STEM Education Questionnaire (TPSEQ)
In this questionnaire, there are five questions asked to elicit what the participants know
about STEM education, why they think that such an approach is needed, its importance for
our country, how STEM education can be applied in classes and the extent to which they
consider themselves competent in the implementation of STEM. The data collected with this
questionnaire were qualitatively analyzed by using content analysis and comparative analysis
techniques together. Each teacher numbered their forms (The form of the first teacher was
numbared as Ö1). Initially the responses of each teacher given to the questions were revised
in such a way as to allow comparative analysis. The responses of every teacher to the each
question on the form were separately analyzed and coded. Two researchers individually
constructed their lists of codes individually and similarities and differences between the lists
were identified. The differences were revised and when necessary, the opinions of a third
expert was sought. The final list of codes was constructed on the basis of words, whole
sentences or paragraphs and after making comparisons between the codings, categories were
formed on the basis of the predominant themess and thus the coding list was simplified and its
final form was determined (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Gay, Mills & Airasian, 2006). One
category obtained through the above-mentioned analysis process and a series of codes listed
under this category is given in Table 1 below.
106 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

Table 1. Sample category and codes

Category Code
Interdisciplinary inquiry skill
STEM-oriented Skill Interdisciplinary problem solving skill
Development BSB
Decision-making skill

How the codes constructed as a result of the analysis of the pre-service teachers’
responses and presented in Table 1 were attained is exemplified below:
Sample Category: STEM-oriented Skill Development,
Sample Code: Creativity in STEM areas
Teacher Response: “…When these areas are integrated, an individual can come up with
original things while developing something because I think, when the individual can
integrate mathematics, technology and engineering, he/she can improve his/her creativity
and think more comprehensively…”
STEM Teaching Plans
On the last day of the program the teachers were asked to develop STEM teaching plans
in order that an in depth analysis could be carried out of any changes to their opinions
regarding their competencies in developing, teaching and conducting STEM education
processes in their classes. The teachers were divided into five groups and they were given 180
minutes to determine the objectives from the science course teaching program. The teachers
were asked to develop their teaching plans in line with Design-based Science Education, one
way of conducting STEM education in science classes. The teaching plan prepared by the 2nd
group is presented in the Table 2.

Table 2. Teaching Plan Prepared by 2nd Group

Unit: Matter and Heat
The aim of this unit is to ensure students comprehend heat conduction and insulation, heat insulation technology’,
contribution to family and the national economy, fuel types, and the environmental impact of the fuel used for
heating purposes.
Suggested Time: 8 one-hour lessons
Learning Objectives:
Classifies the matters according to heat conduction.
Discusses the importance of heat insulation according to family and the national economy and the effectiveness of
sources.
States the criteria of heat insulation materials’ electing.
Improves the alternative heat insulations materials.
Design Challenge: Students will be expected to design a building for Istanbul city. The designs’ success criteria are
maximum energy efficiency, the lifetime of materials, and the total cost of design. “Rubric will be prepared to
evaluate the design.”
Mini Design Challenge: We are investigating the energy efficiency
“The aims of this activity is for students to understand, design and discuss the most effective heat insulation for
buildings and why heat insulation is important”
Mini Design Challenge: Designing an Insulator
“In this activity, the aim is to design an effective insulation for a cup of cold soda using different materials such as
cotton, aluminum foil, wool etc., gaining an understanding of how different materials can facilitate or slow heat
transfer.”
Mini Research: Heat insulation materials for building…
“There are plenty of cheap and common insulation materials available on the market today. Many of these have
been around for quite some time. Each of these insulations have their own advantages and disadvantages. The
choice of insulation material can be very important and in this activity students investigate the properties of heat
insulation materials. They will consider differences including price, environmental impact, flammability, and other
factors.
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 107

The teaching plans prepared by the teachers were analyzed on the basis of the criteria
developed by considering the design based science instruction and education plan
development steps proposed by Wendell et al. (2010, p.6) and the features to be possessed by
design problems defined by Crismond (2001). These criteria are as follows:
• 8-10 science (and engineering) objectives intended to be incurred in students need to
be determined.
• A comprehensive engineering design task that will allow conducting scientific
research related to learning objectives needs to be determined.
• The design tasks should include sub-tasks that will constitute the real life context.
• The design task should be able to be conducted with materials known and easy-to-use.
• The design task should allow more than one design solution.
• The design task should be supportive to cooperative work.
• The design task should be suitable to be conducted by repeatable steps so that design
products can be improved and enhanced.
• Activities to prepare students for the design task should be determined (mini design/
mini research).
The teaching plans were presented by the groups and three science education experts
experienced in STEM education evaluated the presentation on the basis of the above-given
criteria and then the teachers were given feedback. The evaluations were video-recorded. In
order to establish the reliability, the same teaching plans were reevaluated five weeks later
and the same results were obtained.

FINDINGS
Perceptions about STEM Education
TPSEQ was administered to the teachers before and after the program and comparisons
were made on the themes and the categories and codes subsumed under these themes on the
basis of the analysis of their responses. The data gathered in this way will be presented
separately under the themes of “Reasons for the Necessity of STEM Education, Adaptation of
STEM into Education System, Perceptions about the Barriers to Implementation of STEM
Education and The Proficiency Perceptions of Teachers about STEM Instructional Process
Planning, Implementation and Evaluation.
Perceptions about the Reasons for the Necessity of STEM Education
From the teachers’ responses given to the first and fourth questions in TPSEQ, it was
attempted to determine their perceptions about the reasons for the necessity of STEM
Education. The findings obtained as a result of the analysis of the responses given to these
questions are presented in Table 3.
As can be seen in Table 4, before the program, the teachers viewed developing positive
attitudes towards STEM areas (f=12), enhancing creativity (f=11) and interdisciplinary
inquiry (f=6) skills and improvement of academic achievement (n=7) as important reasons for
the necessity of STEM education. After the program, it was found that none of the teachers
consider academic achievement as an important reason for the necessity of STEM education.
After the program, the teachers put greater emphasis on the necessity of STEM education for
improving the creativity in STEM areas (f=18), interdisciplinary problem solving (f=9) and
inquiry skills (f=7) and technology-utilization (f=6). Thirteen of the teachers mentioned
developing positive attitudes towards STEM areas and five of the teachers mentioned lack of
motivation as reasons for the STEM education after the program and the frequencies of these
two reasons are very close to each other before and after the program. After the program, the
teachers added two more reasons for the necessity of STEM education that are having a say in
108 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

scientific developments (f=15) and increasing the level of development of a country (f=5) and
they indicate that the teachers developed some ideas about the societal contribution of STEM.
Another change observed in the perceptions of the teachers as a result of the program is that
STEM education is necessary for people desiring a career in engineering (f=5).

Table 3. Teachers’ Perceptions about the Reasons for the Necessity of STEM
Pretest Posttest
Category Codes
f f
Improvement of STEM Improvement of STEM academic achievement 7 -
Knowledge
Interdisciplinary inquiry skill 6 7
Skill Development Interdisciplinary problem solving skill 1 9
Creativity in STEM areas 11 18
Technology-utilization skill 1 6
Scientific process skills 1 2
Decision-making skill - 1
Affective Behaviors The need for a generation having positive 12 13
Development in STEM attitudes in STEM areas
areas Lack of motivation in STEM areas 3 5
Societal contribution of Having a say in scientific developments - 15
STEM Increasing the level of development - 5
Career Development in Training scientists 1 -
STEM Areas Training engineers - 5

Some of the opinions expressed by the teachers in the pretest and posttest about the
reasons for the need for STEM are as follows:
Ö2-Pretest: “Unfortunately, our country can’t keep up with the technological developments
in the world, let alone producing these technologies. Individuals who are far away from
science literacy and scientific thinking are educated, there are still individuals
experiencing difficulty in using technology; therefore, I think that STEM education should
be put into practice in classes”
Ö3-Pretest: “In my opinion, given that children’s interest in science is gradually decreasing,
STEM education is of great importance for our country to create a generation interested
in science”
Ö5-Pretest: “I think that STEM education is of a vital importance for our country because
we have not been able make a great stride in the field of science for years. In this regard,
one of the key points to be considered is that science education should be in integration
with other disciplines as it is in the real world. That is, they should be provided with
opportunities to make interdisciplinary comparisons…”
Ö11-Pretest: “Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are indispensable for
thinking brains. In my opinion, our country needs students liking these disciplines. By
means of STEM education, I think that a generation interested in these disciplines can be
created.”
Ö1-Posttest: “STEM intends to educate individuals who can produce, solve problems,
conduct analysis and are literate in the related disciplines. We need STEM to have
qualified engineers, scholars, teachers and society in general. In the long run, STEM will
make important contributions to the development of our country.”
Ö2-Posttest: “… In my opinion, the most important objective of it should be to eliminate
negative attitudes in the fields of science and to endear these fields…”
Ö7-Posttest: “Within the context of STEM education, training focusing on the production of
solutions to problems is given. Students learn science by encountering and finding
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 109

solutions to problems. In this way, skills required to think and inquire are developed in
science-related disciplines.”
Ö15-Posttest: “I think that STEM education will yield important benefits for our country in
the long-term. Teaching children how to question and design will positively affect both
their personal lives and their achievements in academic fields. Thus, children will be
confident enough to find solutions to their problems. Given that one of the important
problems in our country is production, innovative production efforts could be invested as
a result of such education.”
Perceptions about the Adaptation of STEM to the Education System
The teachers’ perceptions about how to adapt STEM education to the education system
were elicited through the first and second questions in TPSEQ. The purpose of the third
question is to determine the opinions about how it can be implemented in the current
conditions (education programs in our country, teacher training, measurement and evaluation
methods etc.).
Findings related to the teachers’ perceptions about how to adapt STEM education to the
education system are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Teachers’ Perceptions about how to Adapt STEM Education to the Education Program
Pretest Posttest
Category Codes
f f
Adaptation of the current Development of STEM instructional 5 -
conditions to STEM education program
STEM teacher training 5 -
Adaptation of STEM Connection of mathematics to science 5 -
education to the current courses
conditions Connection of technology to science 3 -
courses
Connection of engineering to science 5 -
courses
Out-of-school project works - 2
Cooperation between teachers - 2
Engineering-focused science courses - 18

When Table 4 is examined, it is seen that before the program, the teachers suggested
that a separate STEM instructional program should be developed (f=5) and STEM teacher
training be conducted (f=5) but after the program they gave up this suggestions. Some of the
teachers believe that STEM education should be implemented without making radical
changes in the current conditions. These teachers stated that this adaptation could be achieved
by incorporating mathematics (f=5), engineering (f=5) and technology (f=3) into science
courses before the program. After the program on the other hand, none of the teachers
mentioned such an integration and they mostly mentioned engineering-focused science
courses (f=18). While few teachers pointed out that cooperation should be made between
teachers for the integration of STEM education under the current conditions (f=2) and such an
integration could be achieved by means of out-of-school projects (f=2).
Findings related to the teachers’ perceptions about STEM implementation under the
current conditions (instructional program, teacher training, measurement-evaluation etc.) are
presented in Table 5.
110 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

Table 5. Teachers’ Perceptions about how STEM Education can be adopted to the Education System
in the Existing Conditions
Category Codes Pretest Posttest
f f
Suggestions for Cooperation between the concerned teachers 7 21
Teachers In-service training for teachers 12 8
Teachers’ becoming open to development 6 4
Suggestions towards Interdisciplinary relationships while teaching the subjects 1 1
Course Process Daily life context 1 -
Integration of technology 1 1
Product-focused 1 -
Design-based science - 14
Suggestions for Out- STEM workshops 1 3
of-class Activities Science festivals 1 -
Other Suggestions Student-centered 3 1
Activity pool suitable for STEM 7 5

As can be seen in Table 5, it is seen that prior to the program, the teachers mostly
thought that in-service teacher trainings should be given (f=12), cooperation between teachers
should be increased (f=7) and teachers should be open to personal development (f=6) for the
implementation of STEM education under the existing conditions. Another important element
pointed out by the teachers for the STEM education is the construction of the activity pool
suitable for STEM (f=7) before the program. After the program, more emphasis was put on
the cooperation between teachers (f=21). Prior to the program, the teachers were able to make
very few suggestions related to what should be done during the instructional process and
made more general suggestions in relation to teacher training. However, following the
activities at the program, most of the teachers made suggestions regarding instructional
process and stated that design-based science education could be adopted (f=14) and
integration of technology, engineering and mathematics into science courses can be achieved.
This may indicate that the program contributed to the teachers’ competencies in relation to in-
class implementations.
The findings presented in Table 4 show that before the program, the teachers thought
that the adaptation of STEM into the education system can be achieved by making changes in
the education program and teacher training system or within the context of the existing
conditions. Following the program, almost all of the teachers made suggestions for the
adaptation within the context of the existing conditions and this may indicate that as a result
of this nine-day training program, the teachers started to think that the adaptation can be
achieved without making radical changes when teachers take some responsibilities.
Some of the opinions stated by the teachers in the pretest and posttest about how to
adapt STEM education to the education system under the existing conditions in general are as
follows:
Ö8-Pretest: “Course plans complying with STEM education should be developed … If this is
to be done under the existing conditions, we should be trained”
Ö9- Pretest: “If we are expected to do this under the existing conditions, then the starting
point for STEM education should be science education. As it involves mathematical skills,
technology and engineering, it can be easily implemented in science courses. First, plans
should be developed for courses, setup needs to be designed well. …Of course, first we
need to understand the logic of STEM well; thus, we should be trained. Teachers may
cooperate for the effective implementation of STEM.”
Ö10- Pretest: “I do not think that STEM disciplines are completely disconnected. Science
makes use of mathematics to a great extent. But, I do not know what will happen when the
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 111

subjects taught in courses are not parallel to each other… In my opinion, STEM training
programs should be organized and we need to participate in them.”
Ö12- Pretest: “We can connect it with technology, by using the tablets given to students, by
showing that tablets are not only for playing games or taking photographs but they can
also be used to study and research. We can download books into tablets…”
Ö1- Posttest: “For us to integrate STEM education into our schools, first teacher training
programs should be revised on the basis of STEM education and teachers who can
implement this approach should be trained. In addition to this, by means of in-service
training programs, teachers can be trained for the implementation of this approach.
Besides training teachers, education programs can be revised to adjust them to this
approach. Science teachers should create connections with other disciplines and can
develop their own course programs in line with this approach.
Ö7- Posttest: “We can adapt it first by constructing the required infrastructure in our
schools. Then, cooperation among teachers should be established. Training of science
teachers is of great importance for this integration …”
Ö11- Posttest: “…Teachers should be educated about STEM by means of in-service training
programs or such projects. At the same time, teachers should be in contact with each
other; we can share our course plans.”
Ö17- Posttest: “We conduct science courses by assigning design tasks to students; we can
develop teaching plans for this purpose. But first we need to get in-service training.”

Findings related to the Teachers’ Perceptions about the Barriers to Implementation of

STEM Education
The teachers’ perceptions about the barriers to implementation of STEM Education
were attempted to be elicited by analyzing the responses given to the first question in TPSEQ
and are presented in Table 6.

Table 6. Teachers’ Perceptions about Barriers to Implementation of STEM Education

Pretest Posttest
Category Code
f f
Teachers The profile of a teacher not open to new ideas 3 -
Students Student readiness - 1
Teaching program The content of the teaching program is not suitable 6 -
Teacher education Improper teacher qualifications 10 7
Measurement and evaluation Centralized exams 2 3
approach
Technical facilities 2 4
Cost 6 -
Time 2 4
Others
Difficulty in integrating the knowledge and skills 2 3
of different disciplines
Prejudiced parents 1 -

As can be seen in Table 6, both before (f=10) and after the program (f=7), the teachers
viewed the biggest barrier to implementation of STEM Education as improper teacher
qualifications. Other factors believed to be barriers to implementation of STEM Education
were the structure of the teaching program (f=6) and costs (f=6) before the program but the
teachers gave up seeing them as be barriers after the program. This might be because of the
112 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

experiences of the teachers during the program; as a result of these experiences they started to
believe that adaptation of STEM could be achieved under the existing conditions and its cost
would not be too high.

The Proficiency Perceptions of Teachers about STEM Instructional Process Planning,

Implementation and Evaluation
The proficiency perceptions of teachers about STEM instructional process planning,
implementation and evaluation were attempted to be elicited through the analysis of the
responses given to the fifth question of “TPSEQ” and are presented in Table 7.

Table 7. The Proficiency Perceptions of Teachers about STEM Instructional Process Planning,
Implementation and Evaluation
Field of competency Yes Partially No
Planning Pretest - 6 18
Posttest 6 8 -
Implementation Pretest - 8 16
Posttest 20 4 -
Measurement-evaluation Pretest - 6 18
Posttest 18 6 -

When Table 7 is examined, it is seen that when compared to how they perceptions’
before the program, the teachers started to feel more confident about planning,
implementation and measurement-evaluation dimensions following the program. This might
have resulted from the active participation of the teachers in many activities related to STEM
education during the program.
Some of the opinions stated by the proficiency perceptions of teachers about STEM
instructional process planning, implementation and evaluation in the pretest and posttest about
as follows:
Ö4-Pretest: “The most important challenge is the shortage of teachers competent enough in
these fields; moreover, the content of education programs is not suitable.”
Ö6-Pretest: “The challenges may stem from the teacher’s not being open to different
approaches. Or even if it is adopted by the teacher, lack of equipments or shortcomings in
infrastructure may lead to some other problems. Another problem can be incompliance
between educational programs and STEM education.”
Ö10-Pretest: “The existing teachers have been educated through traditional methods and
their being closed to new things. Time can be another problem. Cost is an important
barrier considering the present state of education in the country. Moreover, our
education program is not suitable for the integration of STEM.”
Ö2-Posttest: “Time-induced problems, technical possibilities, readiness level of students,
qualifications of teachers”
Ö5-Posttest: “Some challenges can be encountered in the adaptation to the science course
due to qualifications of the teacher. Moreover, physical conditions are important.”
Ö8-Posttest: “The barriers to implementations of STEM education might be lack of
information about this educational process on the part of teachers and parents’
prejudices in relation to teacher-student-parent synchronization.”
Ö21-Posttest: “…The biggest problem is the centrally-administered exams…”
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 113

Findings related to Teaching Plans

The findings obtained by analyzing the teaching plans prepared by the teachers
according to criteria formed on the basis of Wendell et al. (2010, s.6) and Crismond (2001)
are presented in Table 8.

Table 8. Findings Related to the Teaching Plans Prepared by the Teachers

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
group group group group group
8-10 science (and engineering) objectives Yes √ √
intended to be incurred in students need to Partially √ √ √
be determined. No

A comprehensive engineering design task Yes √ √ √ √ √

that will allow conducting scientific Partially
research related to learning objectives No
needs to be determined.
The design tasks should include sub-tasks Yes √ √ √ √ √
that will constitute the real life context. Partially
No
The design task should be able to be Yes √ √ √ √ √
conducted with materials known and easy- Partially
to-use. No
The design task should allow more than Yes √ √ √ √ √
one design solution. Partially
No
The design task should be supportive to Yes √ √ √ √ √
cooperative work. Partially
No
The design task should be suitable to be Yes √ √ √ √ √
conducted by repeatable steps so that Partially
design products can be improved and No
enhanced.
Activities to prepare students for the Yes √ √ √ √ √
design task should be determined (mini Partially
design/ mini research). No

When Table 8 is examined, it is seen that the design-based science instruction plans
prepared by the teachers as a way of achieving the integration of STEM into science courses
are quite adequate in terms of the set criteria. While the teaching plans of the two of the
groups (1st and 4th groups) meet all the criteria, the teaching plans developed by the others
(2nd, 3rd, and 5th groups) are accepted to be partially adequate as they include science
objectives fewer than 8. This finding shows that the teachers feel confident to a great extent
about planning an instructional process suitable for STEM education.

RESULTS, DISCUSSION and SUGGESTIONS

While the teachers regarded STEM education as necessary to enhance academic
achievement in these disciplines prior to the program, they did not consider it so after the
program. The teachers believe that STEM education is needed to improve creativity, problem
solving, inquiry and technology-utilization skills in and developing positive attitudes towards
these disciplines. This was the case both before and after the program but more strongly after
the program. Teachers had conducted activities in which they actively participated in relation
to STEM education and they more strongly believed in the necessity of STEM education for
114 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

the development of some skills. This finding concurs with the findings reported in the
literature. As stated by Morrison (2006), through STEM education, students are enabled to
improve their self-confidence, problem solving, technology-utilization skills and discovery
skills, to be more innovative and technology literate, to think critically and reasonably.
Marulcu & Sungur (2012) indicated which skills of the pre-service science teachers could be
developed via the science course designed through an interdisciplinary integration built on
engineering design approach and found that it could improve their three-dimensional thinking,
creativity and reflectivity, scientific thinking, problem solving, versatile thinking, imagination
and drawing. As a result of the program the teachers started to believe that STEM education
has some societal contributions to make including having a voice in scientific development
and improving developmental levels. Due to the impact of the rapidly advancing
technological innovations of countries it was considered necessary in order to raise the
awareness of science and careers (ITEA, 2007). Moreover, in the literature, research argues
that awareness of science and career can be enhanced through the integration of STEM
disciplines (Apedoe, et. al., 2008; Bozkurt, 2014). In this respect, increasing awareness of the
teachers in terms of the necessity of STEM education as a result of the program is of great
importance given that teachers play an important role in the education system.
Before the program, the teachers thought that the adaptation of STEM into the
education system can be achieved by making changes in the education program and teacher
training system or within the context of the existing conditions. Following the program,
almost all of the teachers made suggestions for the adaptation within the context of the
existing conditions. In reality, the current structure of schools and education programs is not
suitable for a separate STEM course in terms of its objectives, content, instructional activities
and evaluation methods (Bybee, 2010; NAE & NRC, 2009; NRC, 2012). The teachers’
expressing opinions about changing and revising all of these elements for STEM education
indicate that it will be difficult to carry out in the short-term due to time and money concerns
and nearly half of the teachers before the program were of this opinion. Following the
program, almost all of the teachers stated that adaptation should be conducted within the
existing conditions and this indicates their belief that teachers should take responsibility in
this respect. This finding is supported by the opinions expressed by the teachers about the
barriers to implementation of STEM education emphasizing the importance of teacher
qualifications. Both before and after the program, the teachers emphasized the importance of
developing teacher qualifications and cooperation between teachers. It is apparent that the
teachers are cognizant of their responsibilities.
After the program, the teachers made suggestions for the design-based science
instruction (Wendell, et. al., 2010) for the adaption of STEM education within the current
conditions. In fact, as engineering design process that can be defined as the production
process of technologies requires the use of basic engineering knowledge and skills and the
principles of science and mathematics, it naturally ensures the integration of STEM
disciplines (Cantrell, Pekcan, Itanı & Velasquez-Bryant, 2006; NAE & NRC, 2009;).
Although the teachers were provided with opportunities to participate in different sample
activities for STEM integration throughout the program, they suggested design based science
education for the instructional process. Arafah (2011) conducted a study to investigate the
changes taking place in the participating teachers’ perceptions of engineering as a result of a
three-day seminar program given about engineering design process to science and
mathematics teachers and reported that the teachers’ interest in the integration of engineering,
technology, science and mathematics was increased at the end of this three-day program.
After the program the teachers also indicated that they felt competent about the
planning, implementing, evaluation and evaluation of an instructional process in which the
adaptation of STEM education is achieved because they were able to prepare teaching plans
 Bozkurt Altan, E. & Ercan, S. (2016). STEM Education Program for Science Teachers.… 115

integrating STEM disciplines. Yasar Baker, Robinson-Kurpius & Roberts (2006) revealed
that the teachers did not feel competent or felt inadequate while conducting instruction on
design, engineering and technology. In a similar manner, in the current study, it was found
that before the program, the teachers felt they were inadequate in achieving the integration of
these disciplines. Sungur Gul & Marulcu (2014) found that after participating in activities
about engineering design and the uses of legos for three days, the science teachers acquired
basic information of engineering and were able to give some examples for engineering
approach in science education; however, they could not internalize the process enough to use
engineering design process to teach science concepts. Similarly, Arafah (2011) reported that
though the interest of teachers in the integration of engineering, science, technology and
mathematics was increased, they still felt inadequate. Unlike the studies of Arafah (2011) and
Sungur Gül & Marulcu (2014) within the current study, a 9-day intensive program allowing
teachers to actively participate in the activities was implemented and this long and intensive
program may have led to teachers feeling more competent.
It can be recommended that in-service training programs should be developed for
teachers to raise their awareness of the necessity of STEM education and to enhance their
competencies in planning, implementation and evaluation of an instructional process suitable
for this approach.
116 Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(Special Issue), 103-117

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