Communications of the ACM
Giving Students Freedom in the STEM Classroom
Credit: YouTube
Texas schools are turning to project-based learning to solve problems associated with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning, giving students the freedom to find unique ways to solve a problem.
Research by Robert and Mary Margaret Capraro focuses on STEM project-based learning (PBL) with a goal of changing change classroom instruction for students and educators. Students engage in critical and creative thinking while working mathematically, scientifically, and technologically to solve problems presented to them.
"Teachers have to have an end in mind. They have to know what they want the students to learn at the end. But, it's an ill-defined task because different groups of students go about it in different ways. Different students within the same group may go about learning different ways. They just need to come up with what they want as the finished product," says Mary Margaret Capraro.
"We had an idea that we were going to improve scores in Texas," says Robert Capraro. "We wanted to make a difference. We approached a state legislator and made a pitch and got one year of funding."
After working with Dallas Independent School District for a year, research showed measurable gains for target populations. The success led to a second and third year of funding. After the third year, researchers decided to apply for grants to sustain the program and have done so since.
Funding from the Texas Education Agency helped the Capraros to develop Aggie STEM at Texas A&M University as a partnership between the College of Education and the College of Engineering.
Through Aggie STEM, one of seven STEM centers in Texas, the Capraros are able to offer online professional development in multiple areas, including STEM PBL.
"We can't expect teachers to just do this on their own — they don't have enough planning time. They need the professional development to work together with others to adapt a project for their classrooms," says Mary Margaret Capraro.
"We encourage them to work and plan together," says Robert Capraro. "If they're doing a project in one area, say math, then the science teacher can add to it and then engineering teacher can add to it and technology can add to it. Planning is key."
Greater Effects
The Capraros' research involved STEM teachers at several high schools in Texas. They participated in professional development and the development of professional learning communities on their campuses.
"We found that the math content that required the most work — issues of geometry, measurement, probability, and statistics — tended to have the greatest gains," Robert Capraro says. "As the content got more difficult, using PBL had greater effects on the outcomes than traditional classroom instruction."
One of the biggest positive effects of implementing the PBL method was increased student engagement, say teachers involved with the research. Real-world problems made learning more meaningful to the students, teachers reported.
However, they also reported challenges. For some, their students did not have the knowledge or skills to complete the PBLs because they were already behind where they should be mathematically.
The Aggie STEM team took feedback from teachers involved in the professional development and has continued to research the benefits of STEM PBL in classrooms in Texas.
Through online professional development opportunities, to a book designed to help teachers provide contextualized learning for their students, the team is hoping to have a positive impact on STEM learning in Texas schools and beyond.
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