Preservice teachers' experiences of STEM integration: challenges and implications for integrated STEM teacher preparation

In the United States, recent STEM education reform initiatives call for teaching STEM subjects through integration of multiple related subjects. In response to this call, an integrated STEM education methods course was developed for secondary preservice teachers in STEM disciplines. At the conclusion of the course, qualitative data (e.g., interviews, student artifacts) were collected to examine the methods course students' practices and experiences of STEM integration. Teachers' learning was approached from situated perspectives that shed light on contexts in which teaching practices are situated and funds of knowledge that individual teachers bring to bear to their teaching contexts. While the students successfully developed STEM integration lessons and taught them, they faced challenges attributable to current school practices, limited interdisciplinary understandings, and a lack of role models. Acknowledging the numerous constraints in the current educational system and structure, several ways were suggested to mitigate the challenges and build on the strengths that preservice teachers established.