Utilization of Remote Access Electron Microscopes to Enhance Technology Education and Foster STEM Interest in Preteen Students

• Published in: Research in science education (Australasian Science Education Research Association) Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 617 - 634
• Main Authors: Wolf, Vanessa, Hsiao, Valerie, Rodriguez, Brandon, Min, Ashley, Mayorga, Jill, Ashcroft, Jared
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Access to Education; Attitudes; Colleges & universities; Distance Education; Education; Educational Technology; Electron microscopes; Higher Education; Inquiry method; Laboratory Equipment; Learning; Likert Scales; Microscopes; Middle School Students; Positive Attitudes; Remote searching; Scanning electron microscopy; Science Education; Science Experiments; Science Instruction; Scientific Attitudes; Spectroscopy; STEM Education; Student Attitudes; Students; Teaching Methods; Technical education; Technology; Technology Education; Urban Schools; Technology education; Active learning; Educational technology; Educational Technology; Technology Education; Active Learning
• ISSN: 0157-244X; 1573-1898
• DOI: 10.1007/s11165-020-09964-4

Remote access technology in STEM education fills dual roles as an educational tool to deliver science education (Educational Technology) and as a means to teach about technology itself (Technology Education). A five-lesson sequence was introduced to 11 and 12-year-old students at an urban school. The lesson sequences were inquiry-based, hands-on, and utilized active learning pedagogies, which have been implemented in STEM classrooms worldwide. Each lesson employed a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) accessed remotely. Students were assessed using multiple-choice questions to ascertain (1) technology education learning gains: did students gain an understanding of how electron microscopes work? and (2) educational technology learning gains: did students gain a better understanding of lesson content through use of the electron microscope? Likert-item surveys were developed, distributed, and analyzed to established how remote access technology affected student attitudes toward science, college, and technology. Participating students had a positive increase in attitudes toward scientific technology by engaging in the lesson sequences, reported positive attitudes toward remote access experiences, and exhibited learning gains in the science behind the SEM technology they accessed remotely. These findings suggest that remote experiences are a strong form of technology education, but also that future research could explore ways to strengthen remote access as an educational technology (a tool to deliver lesson content), such as one-on-one engagement. This study promotes future research into inquiry-based, hands-on, integrated lessons approach that utilize educational technology learning through remote instruments as a pedagogy to increase students’ engagement with and learning of the T in STEM.