Technology as a Catalyst for Twenty-First-Century STEM Teacher Education

Abstract

The overarching aim of this chapter is to explore how modern technologies can become catalysts for design, implementation, and evaluation of effective STEM teacher education opportunities for both pre-service and in-service teachers. The chapter sets two specific goals: (a) to develop a novel theoretical framework for examining STEM teacher knowledge; and (b) to use this framework to examine two different examples of STEM teacher education and professional development: the UBC Master of Educational Technology Program, and the STEM Education Videos for All project in a teacher education program. A novel theoretical framework—4D Theoretical Framework for examining knowledge for teaching was proposed in the chapter. This framework focuses on four dimensions of teacher knowledge: the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) (D1), the Teacher Zone of Proximal Development (T-ZPD) (D2), the Deliberate Pedagogical Thinking with Technology (D3); and the teacher knowledge growth (time) dimension (D4). Thus, the 4D Framework focuses not only on the acquisition of knowledge by teachers (D1), but also on their ability to learn and grow through collaboration with peers (D2), and to think deliberately about the use of technology to promote student learning (D3). Most importantly, the 4D Theoretical Framework pays careful attention to the growth of knowledge for teaching, thus, it perceives teacher knowledge as a dynamic construct, as opposed to a static one. This is especially relevant for twenty-first-century educators who live in the time of rapid changes of curriculum, expectations from teachers and students, as well as rapid expansion of educational technologies. While the 4D Theoretical Framework can be applied to the study of teacher knowledge in general, in this chapter, it is specifically applied to the examination of the STEM knowledge for teaching. Through examining two different but complementary cases of technology-enhanced STEM teacher education and professional development using the 4D Theoretical Framework, it became clear that both pre-service and already practicing teachers should experience technology-enhanced learning environments as learners before they are ready to implement these environments as teachers. In both examples, educational technology helped engage STEM educators in collaborative design of technology-enhanced STEM education resources relevant to their teaching context. In addition, teachers had an opportunity to reflect on the theoretical underpinnings behind these resources, the purpose of using technology, the ways the pedagogical effectiveness of these resources could be evaluated, as well as on their own learning. The opportunity to choose the project they would like to work on, to collaborate, provide and accept peer feedback, examine, and reflect on their learning was essential for helping educators to gain ownership of the technology-enhanced educational materials they were designing. Thus, educational technology became a catalyst for designing educational resources and empowering STEM teachers to adapt their pedagogies to twenty-first-century students. Finally, the chapter ponders over the future role of technology in STEM teacher education and professional development, as well as on potential avenues for future research.