Co-designing cross-setting activities in a nationwide STEM partnership program – Teachers’ and students’ experiences

Kristine Bakkemo Kostøl; Kari Beate Remmen; Anette Braathen; Shelley Stromholt

doi:10.31129/LUMAT.9.1.1414

Authors

Kristine Bakkemo Kostøl Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6768-0301
Kari Beate Remmen Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6286-9313
Anette Braathen Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2176-8698
Shelley Stromholt Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1120-3458

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31129/LUMAT.9.1.1414

Keywords:

STEM partnership, out-of-school, authentic STEM education, learning across settings, co-design tool, student outcome

Abstract

STEM partnerships are popular initiatives but can be challenging to implement in practice. Accordingly, within the context of a nationwide, cross-setting STEM partnership program in Norway – Lektor2 – a co-design tool was introduced to support teachers to collaborate with STEM professionals in developing curriculum units involving authentic STEM problems and practices. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the teachers’ and students’ experiences from the curriculum units based on the co-design tool and how the tool might help facilitate partnerships in STEM education. Teacher and student data were collected in 2015-2018 (N=2479), and responses to open-ended questions were coded using a grounded theory approach. Findings indicate that the co-design tool, particularly “the commission” – where students are commissioned by STEM professionals to design solutions to authentic problems – enhanced teachers’ collaboration with STEM professionals, led to changes in pedagogical approaches, and enabled the teachers to differentiate in their teaching. Student experiences from participating in the co-designed curriculum units are characterised as more expansive views of STEM, STEM learning, and increased STEM engagement. We discuss how the co-design tool enabled teachers to overcome partnership challenges and what aspects of the commission appeared to be important for the students’ experiences. This study provides a specific example of a co-design tool that can enhance pedagogical designs developed through STEM partnerships.

Author Biographies

Kristine Bakkemo Kostøl, Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Kristine Bakkemo Kostøl works at the Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, where she is head of Lektor2 – a national STEM partnership program in Norway. Her research focuses on STEM partnerships, authentic STEM learning, and cross-setting experiences, and she has published articles for teachers.

Kari Beate Remmen, Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Dr. Kari Beate Remmen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oslo. Dr. Remmen has been involved in several research and development projects focusing on outdoor science activities and has published research articles, books and articles for teachers.

Anette Braathen, Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Anette Braathen is employed at the University of Oslo working with development and facilitation of STEM partnerships in Norway. Her research interests are outdoor science education, deep learning and social inequalities in science, and she has published articles for teachers.

Shelley Stromholt, Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Dr. Shelley Stromholt is an Associate Professor at the University of Oslo and a consultant in research and program evaluation in the US. Dr. Stromholt works across several research-practice partnerships that focus on designing, supporting, and studying agentic and consequential learning experiences in science. Her research focuses on STEM-related learning and identity development in and across informal and formal settings.