Given the large variation in conceptualizations and enactment of K^− 12 integrated STEM, this paper puts forth a detailed conceptual framework for K^− 12 integrated STEM education that can be used by researchers, educators, and curriculum developers as a common vision. Our framework builds upon the extant integrated STEM literature to describe seven central characteristics of integrated STEM: (a) centrality of engineering design, (b) driven by authentic problems, (c) context integration, (d) content integration, (e) STEM practices, (f) twenty-first century skills, and (g) informing students about STEM careers. Our integrated STEM framework is intended to provide more specific guidance to educators and support integrated STEM research, which has been impeded by the lack of a deep conceptualization of the characteristics of integrated STEM. The lack of a detailed integrated STEM framework thus far has prevented the field from systematically collecting data in classrooms to understand the nature and quality of integrated STEM instruction; this delays research related to the impact on student outcomes, including academic achievement and affect. With the framework presented here, we lay the groundwork for researchers to explore the impact of specific aspects of integrated STEM or the overall quality of integrated STEM instruction on student outcomes.

Background: Few tools or rubrics exist to assess the quality of integrated STEM curricula, and existing tools focus on checklists of characteristics of integrated STEM. While such instruments provide important information about the presence and quality of certain curricular components, they do not assess the level and nature of integration of the curriculum as a whole. Thus, this study explores the development of a process focused to understand the nature of integration within a STEM curriculum unit. Findings: A conceptual flow graphic (CFG) was constructed for 50 integrated STEM curriculum units. Patterns in the nature of the interdisciplinary connections were used to categorize and understand the nature of integration and curricular coherence within each unit. The units formed four broad types of integrated STEM curricula: (i) coherent science unit with loosely connected engineering design challenge (EDC), (ii) engineering design-focused unit with limited connections to science content, (iii) engineering design unit with science content as context, and (iv) integrated and coherent STEM units. All physical science units were in the integrated and coherent category with strong conceptual integration between the main science concepts and the EDC. Curricula based in the Earth and life sciences generally lacked conceptual integration between the science content and the EDC and relied on the engineering design process to provide a coherent storyline for the unit. Conclusions: Our study shows that engineering practices can serve as a contextual integrator within a STEM unit. The utilization of an EDC also provides the potential for conceptual integration because engineering is grounded in the application of science and mathematics. Integrated STEM curricula that purposefully include science and mathematics concepts necessary to develop solutions to the EDC engage students in authentic engineering experiences and provide conceptual integration between the disciplines. However, the alignment of grade-level science standards with the EDC can be problematic, particularly in life science and Earth science. The CFG process provides a tool for determining the nature of integration between science and mathematics content and an EDC. These connections can be conceptual and/or contextual, as both forms of integration are appropriate depending on the instructional goals.

Current reforms in K-12 STEM education call for integration between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Such integration of STEM disciplines at the K-12 level offers students an opportunity to experience learning in real-world, multidisciplinary contexts; however, there is little reported research about teachers’ experiences in engaging in integrated STEM instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological multiple case study is to understand nine science teachers’ first-time experiences in implementing integrated STEM curricular units in their middle school physical science classrooms. This study draws upon both classroom implementation data and teacher reflective interviews to illustrate different degrees of integrated STEM instruction and to understand teachers’ challenges and successes with these varying approaches. Our results indicate three distinct cases of integration within our sample that represent low, medium, and high degrees of STEM integration throughout curriculum implementations. Interviews with teachers from each case revealed three themes that varied across teachers’ experiences: the nature of integration, choosing between science and engineering, and student engagement and motivation. Teachers in all three cases were challenged to make explicit connections between science, engineering, and mathematics while simultaneously maintaining a motivating and engaging context for their students throughout their instruction. Further, it appears that the degree of STEM integration that occurs in instruction may be related to teachers’ ability to make explicit connections between the disciplines. The work presented here informs educational researchers, policy makers, and K-12 STEM educators that there are several challenges when it comes to implementing new STEM initiatives in K-12 education. Although this work is limited to middle school physical science teachers’ experiences with first-time STEM instruction, many of the identified themes are not content-specific; therefore, this work may shed light on general struggles that are common to educators who are integrating across content disciplines for the first time.

As more and more science teachers in the United States are now expected to implement STEM education in their classrooms, it is important to understand how teachers conceptualise STEM education. This information can then be used to provide teachers with meaningful support as they move towards implementation of STEM education. Understanding that not all representations of STEM are equal, this mixed-methods study used a phenomenographic lens to examine science teachers’ perceptions of eight different models of STEM education through photo elicitation interviews. Part of this was done though an activity in which teachers ranked different models of STEM education by arranging them in a continuum. Findings reveal that teachers are most drawn to models of STEM education that show STEM beyond school settings and that include clear intersections between the disciplines represented in the acronym. This study sheds light on the importance of creating a shared conception of STEM education in order to have productive conversations across various stakeholders within the STEM education community.

With the expansion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools all over the United States and the world, new roles for teachers are being created, and with these roles, identities are evolving. However, these roles and identities remain an ill-defined area in STEM. The purpose of this paper was to explore the developing STEM teachers’ identities in emerging STEM schools, answering two research questions: (1) How do teachers define their roles as STEM teachers within a STEM school? (2) What do teachers identify as being important characteristics of STEM teachers? A multiple case study design was used to explore the research questions within a bounded context of two emerging STEM schools. Data for this study were drawn from semi-structured interviews conducted with eight teachers from two developing STEM schools within a large urban district in the Midwestern United States. Teams of teachers at each of the schools worked throughout the year to develop and implement their vision for STEM. Using an inductive data analysis process, three major themes that characterized a STEM teacher identity emerged. These were the unique nature of STEM teachers’ identity; professional characteristics of STEM; and personal characteristics of STEM teachers. Collaboration, flexibility, awareness of students’ needs, and advocates of equity and inclusion were identified as pivotal characteristics of STEM teachers. This study concluded that STEM teachers’ identity can be viewed as a dynamic, evolving process that results from the interaction of personal and professional traits within new educational experiences exemplified by the STEM endeavor in their schools. An alignment between teachers' personal philosophy and STEM understanding is essential for the success in teaching in STEM schools.