STEM teachers’ private theories and their learning design in international schools in Hong Kong

Abstract

 STEM education has escalated over the past decade, with millions of dollars being invested by educational institutions. Despite this, students are still not generally well-prepared for developing STEM skills. It is expected that the need for STEM education in schools will continue to increase over the coming years. The literature emphasises that teachers are the key to successfully implementing STEM education. However, most STEM teachers are unprepared and ill-equipped for the task of preparing students for a sound STEM education. Teachers’ thinking is critical for their learning design, decision-making and implementation of STEM. This decision-making is underpinned by a set of private theories or preconceptions. Using the methodology of a qualitative multi-case study, this research focuses on five participants teaching STEM in International Schools in Hong Kong. The private theories of the participants were identified, as were those that were an obstacle to the effective implementation of STEM education. Further, the study included the development of a learning design framework to mediate teachers’ thinking in the context of STEM learning design.