Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
6-22-2025
Publication Title
2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Abstract
The ambitious vision outlined in A Framework for K-12 Science Education, which is delineated in the Next Generation Science Standards, calls for advancing engineering. Nationwide data shows that teachers report comparatively low self-efficacy for engineering, compared to other subjects (e.g., math), and elementary teachers generally report the lowest levels. Prior research shows that teachers’ self-efficacy impacts their inclusion of engineering in classrooms, and self-efficacy may be influenced by content and pedagogical knowledge among other variables. Professional learning (PL), a strategy for strengthening teachers’ knowledge, can also foster self-efficacy. This project recruited elementary teachers from four states (CA, MT, ND, and WY). Teachers received intense summer PL for five days and stayed connected through PL activities during the 2023-2024 school year. To accommodate rural teachers from multiple states, all PL activities and research were completed virtually. The online PL modeled shifts called for by NGSS and offered guidance for teachers as they introduced engineering practices into their classrooms. Likert scale surveys were administered at three time points—before and immediately after the summer PL with a delayed post-PL survey at the school year’s end. Measures captured teachers’ engineering self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, plus an array of background characteristics. Analysis explores data collected from participants who responded to all three surveys (n=111). We found improvement in teacher self-efficacy. The full paper will include descriptive and inferential statistics to investigate associations between teachers’ engineering self-efficacy and background variables (e.g., prior PL experience, years of teaching experience) and characteristics (e.g., geographic location, grade level).
DOI
10.18260/1-2--55722
Rights
© American Society for Engineering Education. Posted in the UND Scholarly Commons with the citation indicating that ASEE holds the copyright.
Recommended Citation
Ryan G. Summers, Rebekah J. Hammack, Julie Robinson, et al.. "DRK-12 Examining Changes in Elementary Teachers’ Engineering Self-Efficacy Across a Year-Long Professional Learning Program" (2025). Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice Faculty Publications. 39.
https://commons.und.edu/tlpp-fac/39
Comments
Presented at the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, June 22-25, 2025 (NSF Grantees Poster Session). Version of record available in the ASEE PEER repository via the DOI.