An attempt to evaluate STEAM project-based instruction from a school mathematics perspective

• Published in: ZDM Vol. 53; no. 5; pp. 1137 - 1148
• Main Authors: Diego-Mantecon, Jose-Manuel, Prodromou, Theodosia, Lavicza, Zsolt, Blanco, Teresa F., Ortiz-Laso, Zaira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Active Learning; Attitudes; Classrooms; Cognition & reasoning; Collaborative learning; Cooperative learning; Curriculum Evaluation; Design; Education; Engineering; Faculty Development; Feedback loops; Foreign Countries; Formative evaluation; Inquiry method; Interdisciplinary Approach; Interdisciplinary aspects; Knowledge; Learning; Learning Processes; Mathematical analysis; Mathematics; Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Teachers; Mathematics teaching; Original Paper; Problem solving; Program evaluation; Project based learning; Secondary education; Secondary school mathematics; Secondary School Teachers; STEAM education; STEM Education; Student Projects; Students; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Experience; Teaching Methods; Spain; Mathematics learning; STEAM education; STEM education; Project-based learning; Classroom implementation
• ISSN: 1863-9690; 1863-9704
• DOI: 10.1007/s11858-021-01303-9

Official documents in several educational systems reflect the importance of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and consider project-based learning (PBL) as a way of integrating such disciplines in the classroom. Although STEAM-PBL has been characterized and evaluated in different ways, its impact on school mathematics teaching remains unclear. Mathematics is recognized as the fundamental basis of other disciplines; however, many students still perceive it as a difficult subject and abandon it. To analyze STEAM-PBL classroom implementation from a school mathematics standpoint, we examined 41 classroom experiences from 11 Spanish secondary education teachers (five in-field mathematics teachers), who participated in a STEAM training program for more than 4 years. To frame this study, Thibaut et al.'s (2018) and Schoenfeld's (2014) characterizations of well-designed and implemented projects, respectively, were employed. The results showed that in-field mathematics teachers avoided transdisciplinary projects in which school mathematics is difficult to address, while out-of-field teachers tended to overlook the mathematics in interdisciplinary projects. Unlike out-of-field teachers, mathematics teachers often eluded design-based learning processes for deeply exploiting school mathematics. The latter teachers promoted high cognitive demands and positive perceptions about mathematics in projects where formative environments were generated through discussion and a meaningful feedback loop. [Author abstract, ed]