Reconceptualising Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Programs through collaborative partnerships between scientists and educators

Outcomes

What we did and what we achieved

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Overview

The ReMSTEP project has

  • created:
    • Novel and enhanced connections between key partner institutions involved in mathematics and science teacher education
    • New collaborations between university science/mathematics departments and teacher education departments
  • and observed:
    • changes in pre-service teacher and mathematics and science undergraduate attitudes towards scientists and the practice of science and mathematics teaching and learning, and
    • an improved capacity of both pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in integrating contemporary science and mathematics practice into the curriculum.

The ReMSTEP project offered an opportunity for undergraduate science and mathematics students to engage with schools in order to build a recruitment pipeline of high potential mathematics and science teachers. As a result of the activities that focused on this cohort of tertiary students, undergraduate science and mathematics students were motivated to consider taking up one of the available pathways to teaching as a career.

Cross-faculty engagement in science teacher education is one of the strongest outcomes of ReMSTEP. Strong networks have been established between science/maths and education academic staff. Academics from different faculties met on a regular basis to share expert knowledge, collaborate and develop resources across the diverse activities. Ongoing collaborative arrangements have been established in planning and maintaining teacher education courses and activities.

As a result of ReMSTEP, pre-service teachers (PSTs) changed their attitudes towards science and mathematics teaching and developed their capacities to integrate contemporary science and/or mathematics into the school curriculum. Being exposed to cutting-edge mathematics and science research and practice allowed PSTs to develop new perspectives on the contemporary practice of science and mathematics, growing confidence in teaching difficult concepts, and updated their subject knowledge. There is evidence that these rewarding experiences are being transformed into school contexts to the benefit of school students.

Activities

The ReMSTEP project was comprised of multiple sub-projects (termed “activities”) that aimed to fulfil one or more of the seven key innovations.

Some activities were confined to a single university, whilst others were spread across a number of universities. Each activity took the general ReMSTEP approach and applied it to a different field, and there was a wide range of findings across activities. Explore the activities section for a description of the outputs and findings of each activity.

Explore ReMSTEP activities

Resources

Some of these activities resulted in the development of resources which we have made available for use by the wider eductaion community.

Explore ReMSTEP resources

Footnotes:

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