Needs assessment of Thai pre-service teachers’ STEM teaching competency

Abstract

Need assessment of Thai pre-service teachers (PSTs)’ STEM teaching competency is essential for designing activities in teacher education programs aimed at facilitating efficient STEM teaching. This research pursued three main objectives: (1) to conduct the identification of PSTs’ needs for STEM teaching competency, (2) to identify PSTs’ reasons behind their needs for STEM teaching
competency, and (3) to identify the PSTs’ proposals for the solution to their needs for STEM teaching competency. The study involved 16 PSTs selected purposefully from those who had taken STEM courses. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using mean, Standard Deviation (SD), and the modified priority needs index (PNImodified), while qualitative data from interviews were subjected to content analysis. The finding of questionnaire data revealed the primary areas PSTs highlighted were STEM designing
and development of lesson plan competency (PNImodified = 0.62). The focus group interview revealed three key reasons for the high ranking of this need: (1) the lack of understanding to integrate STEM disciplines, (2) a few examples of STEM lesson plans, and (3) the lack of STEM lesson plan development skills. They also proposed three solutions to this need: (1) more reflection activities to build the PSTs’ understanding of integrating STEM disciplines related to STEM problems, (2) providing many more examples of STEM lesson plans, and (3) providing more time during their STEM course on developing STEM lesson plans. Implications from this study include
the design of a teacher education course to develop PSTs’ STEM teaching competency.