Initial investigation of effective teacher professional development among experienced and non-experienced engineering teachers (work in progress)

Experts have identified an urgent need over the past decade to increase the number of professionals in STEM disciplines [1, 2]. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the U.S. needs to increase the number of STEM degree recipients by 34% on an annual basis [1]. The need for STEM educators in K-12 education is highlighted as a particular population of STEM professionals that are in high demand due to the paucity of their numbers. Within K-12 engineering education specifically, scholars note that improvements are difficult because there are no clearly defined engineering curricula [3]. These same scholars note that most educators are unprepared to advise students in K-12 about engineering careers, let alone introduce K-12 skills and knowledge in engineering into their classrooms [3]. Engineering is often perceived as esoteric among early elementary education instructors, which can lead adults to be wary about adapting engineering curricula [4]. It is worth considering whether or to what extent middle or high school educators perceive engineering in similar ways. Engineering for US All (E4USA): A National Pilot Program for High School Engineering Course and Database is a National Science Foundation-funded initiative designed to address this national need. The E4USA project aims to make engineering more inclusive and accessible to high school educators and students, particularly those from underrepresented populations. This paper describes the experiences of a sample of high school educators that comprise the inaugural cohort of nine E4USA educators. The educators' reflective responses to professional development (PD), which they received as preparation for this course prior to the start of the 2019-20 academic year are particularly illuminated.