STEM Education Through Personalized Learning

 

 Christi Chavez

 

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Overloaded curriculums and lack of knowledge of how to teach  STEM education, elementary school teachers are faced with a daunting task. “I just can’t keep up with everything.  I feel like a horrible teacher.”  I hear this phrase over and over as I walk through the primary wing of the elementary school where I teach first grade.  Keeping up with the new changes in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in math alone for first grade teachers is an overwhelming task. Teachers of primary grades are also given the task of teaching all four core curricular subjects, meeting the needs of every child, from struggling learner to the gifted and talented individuals.  Teachers at this level must develop lesson plans to cover the state ( or nationally) based core curriculum for each subject.   Inclusion of extension activities, English Language learner activities, as well as accommodations and modifications for struggling or “at-risk” learners must be made in every subject, in every lesson, every day.  Activities to challenge advanced students as well as reteach activities must be thoughtful, engaging, and thorough. Meanwhile, pressure exists to prepare and encourage students for  careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM.

 

 

Statement of Problem

            Teachers in self contained Elementary school classrooms are given the task of meeting the needs of every child, from struggling learner to the gifted and talented individuals.  Teachers at this level must develop lesson plans to cover the state ( or nationally) based core curriculum for each subject.  Furthermore, Teachers are expected to incorporate and encourage the study of STEM disciplines.    Inclusion of extension activities, English Language learner activities, as well as accommodations and modifications for struggling or “at-risk” learners must be made in every subject, in every lesson, every day.  Activities to challenge advanced students as well as reteach activities must be thoughtful, engaging, and thorough. Can personalized learning through the use of technology enhance the ability of an elementary school classroom teacher to incorporate STEM curriculum in the classroom?

 

 

 

 Research Questions

  • Do personalized learning programs improve STEM achievement,( Science, Technology, Engineering, Math,) of elementary school students as compared to traditional teaching methods?

  • Do personalized learning programs have a positive impact on elementary school teachers?

 

 

 

 

Significance of Study

In the fall of 2013, teachers in forty seven of the fifty states in The United States of America began following new standards called “The Common Core.”  The new standards are an attempt to increase rigor and prepare students for the 21st century workforce. While specific jobs of the future are unknown, many economists predict a vast increase in the number of STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) jobs in the United States.  At our current rate of entrance into these fields, hundreds of thousands of jobs will go unfilled due to the lack of qualified individuals.  Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands may go unemployed due to their lack of STEM knowledge and skills.   The purpose of this research is to facilitate educators in closing the gap between needed future job opportunities  and educated people to fill them by providing early exposure to STEM education experiences through technology .  This research could be valuable to educators, economists, and others.

 

 Method

 

The Soloman four research method will be used.   Two groups of students will take a pretest.  One of the pretested groups will receive the treatment while the other does not.  Of the two groups that did not take the pretest, one group will receive the treatment, and the other group will not.  All students will take the post test.

Selection of Sample

            For this hypothetical study, four groups of heterogeneous third grade classes at the same school would be studied.  Parental permission for participation in the study would be required.  Each group of students would be taught the same common core based curriculum over the course of a semester. ( approximately 18 weeks) Math instruction for elementary school students is approximately 90 minutes a day.  The control group, as well as one other group  would be taught in a traditional manner, 90 minutes a day of teacher led activities with no computer based instruction.  Two other groups would be taught through a blended learning course, that is, teacher taught as well as computer/online instruction with equal time in each scenario ( 45 minutes direct teaching, 45 minutes computer based instruction).

 

 

Design

            In order to address both questions, the study would be twofold.  The first would be a quantitative study using the Soloman four group design.  A pre-test would be given to two of the four groups  to measure their current knowledge of math as it relates to Science, Technology and engineering.  Two groups would not take the pretest, only the post test.  The treatment of STEM based computerized mathematical instruction  amounts  zero for the first group group who was given the pre-test, 0 minutes of computer based instruction for the second group who did not have the pretest, 45  minutes for the third group who took the pre-test, and 45 minutes of computer based instruction for the fourth and final group who did not take the pretest.  A post test would be given to all students at the end of the 18 week school session.  The pre-test would have questions coving the same content as the post-test, however, the exact questions would be different.

            The send part of  research would be quantitative as well.  The teachers of each group would be given a Likert scale to analyze teacher perception of time spent planning, grading, and preparing for the STEM based mathematics class.  Other sections section of the Likert survey would include perceived student engagement and perceived student performance .  The Likert scale would have to be carefully written so as to include the opinions of the teachers whose students did not participate in the personalized learning experiment.

 

Data Analysis

 

Test scores of each group would be analyzed by assessing :

  • the averages of the classes

  • the amount of increase of the overall averages of each class ( pretest average vs post test average)

  • average student score increase per class ( each students posttest score - pretest score

  • the difference in the number of students passing, failing in each class : # students failing pretest, # students failing posttest , per class

  • The difference in range of scores per class pre-test vs post test( Highest test score-lowest test score, pre and post test per class)

 

The teacher surveys of Likert scales would be analyzed to compare teacher perceptions of teacher time spent planning, preparing, and grading student work, ease of use , as well as teacher perception of student engagement and achievement.

 

 

References

 

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Welcome to my portfolio. My name is Christi Chavez. I am a curious, driven self-starter who thrives on learning and developing new ideas and solutions. I am actively seeking a position in Instructional design for e-Learning. 
I am passionate about learning and inspiring others to love to learn. I believe for a successful future, we need individuals who question the norm. We need people with new ideas, new questions, and different thinking. I believe collaboration, questioning, and learning from "failures" fosters deep understanding. I believe people of all ages have more to offer than regurgitating facts. It is my belief and desire to inspire a better way to teach which led me to obtain my masters in Global eLearning. Through cooperative learning experiences, I researched best teaching practices all over the United States and throughout the world. What I learned changed my classroom instruction and instructional techniques. Check my websites page to read more about what the learning experiences I created and what I continue to do to inspire a love of learning.

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