From a teacher student’s view - how STEM-actors have impact on teacher education and teaching in STEM

Oct 15, 2026

Study of Swedish STEM-teacher students examines how experiences with STEM-actors influence teacher education and STEM teaching practices. Eighty-five teacher students observed, interviewed, and analysed interactions across 21 types of STEM-actors, including science centres, museums, maker spaces, and code clubs. The analysis draws on student report texts and thematic methods, showing no disputing attitude and an emerging assumption that external actors are needed. Students also question whether making and construction alone always drive engaging, fun, and interesting technology teaching, emphasizing the importance of teacher subject competence and formal training encounters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Collaboration with out-of-school STEM actors

Learning approaches and maker spaces

Goals for student teachers and active teachers

Evidence from evaluations and studies

From a teacher student’s view– how STEM-actors have impact on teacher education and teaching in STEM Susanne Engström, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Abstract In this study, Swedish STEM-teacher students' experiences of STEM-actors are explored. 85 teacher students have visited each, of a total of 21 different STEM-actors (science centres, museums, maker spaces, code clubs etc. ) who all offer school classes STEM-activities but also in-service teacher education. The teacher students were given the task of observing, interviewing and analysing. The teacher students' report texts constitute data that has been analysed thematically. In the teacher students' statements, no disputing attitude towards the STEM-actors emerge. It seems that a preconceived approach is being developed among the teacher students that the school system needs external STEM-actors for both further education and teaching in T&S. The student teachers become convinced that the formal school setting fails to make the subject of technology fun and interesting enough. Nevertheless, the student teachers are not completely convinced that doing (construction), i.e. practical work, is always what should be most important. They express the view that the teaching must contain engaging, fun and interesting elements and that it requires subject competence of the teacher. The student teachers are undergoing a teacher training course which includes encounters with STEM actors, that seem to have resulted in a view that technology teaching in a formal school setting is insufficiently interesting, engaging and fun. Key words STEM actors, science centres, technology teachers training, student teacher training Introduction In Sweden, formal education in the school system is conducted in collaboration with actors from outside the formal school system (out-of-school science environments) . Science centres, different museums and other actors (e.g. various actors in programming, maker spaces etc. ), referred to here as STEM actors, offer their services to actively employed teachers, both for the teachers’ own continuing education and to receive school students and provide teaching in school subjects. This is not unique to Sweden. It occurs in many other countries, and researchers throughout the world have studied the similarities and differences between learning in formal and informal contexts. Some of the research has been focused on contexts, affective and social aspects, the nature of participation and the specific content (Martin, 2004; Stocklmayer, Rennie, & Gilbert, 2010; Wellington, 1990) . STEM actors also collaborate with the universities’ teacher training programmes by offering teaching facilities, equipment and teacher-led teaching for students who are to become preschool teachers and teachers in various subjects, such as science, mathematics and technology. Collaboration with different actors outside the school is particularly prevalent in the STEM subjects, and it has been shown to result in fruitful learning opportunities for student teachers (Avraamidou, 2014; McGinnis et al., 2012) . The reason that STEM subjects, school students, teachers and student teachers receive this attention from different actors outside the school is that school students’ interest in STEM subjects is considered too low, and that stimulating teaching activities are needed which schools in the formal school system do not seem capable of providing (Adams & Gupta, 2017) . The STEM actors’ starting point is that they are willing and able to contribute to increased interest in STEM among children and young people. They base their activities on their own great commitment and believe that this, together with their environments and activities, leads to increased interest in learning among students of school age (Martin et al., 2016) . The teaching approach of many of the STEM actors is based largely on Dewey’s ideas of“learning by doing”. Sometimes the learning in questi

FAQs

How were the STEM-actors studied in this research?

Swedish STEM-teacher students visited 21 different STEM-actors, observing, interviewing, and analysing their activities. The students' report texts were analysed thematically.

What overall attitude do student teachers show toward STEM-actors?

No disputing attitude toward the STEM-actors emerged in the students’ statements. Their experiences led to the perception that external STEM-actors are needed for both further education and teaching.

Does the study suggest that practical making is always the most important teaching approach?

No. While construction and practical work are valued, student teachers are not completely convinced that doing alone should be the most important element. They stress the need for engaging, fun, and interesting teaching and teacher subject competence.

Oct 15, 2026

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