Although interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields continues to grow, there are gaps in the number of American youth entering these fields at the University level and industry wide. There is a need to address the STEM recruitment and retention issues starting from classroom practice and the curriculum offered to the learners. This will stimulate the interest of young learners towards STEM fields. Capraro et al.,(2016), Guskey and Yoon (2009), and Maskit (2011) show that the availability of in-depth, accessible continuous support for teachers can affect teacher efficacy, which positively affects learner interests and achievement gains. The author seeks to develop an online personalized professional development (PPD) tool using adaptive learning technologies to provide pedagogical support to STEM teachers. This goal will be accomplished by investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of using an online learning environment for the professional development of STEM teachers. The project will assess the impact of an ongoing, accessible support on teacher efficacy. The author will be exploring innovative measures that combine adaptive-learning technologies with professional development. Participants of the study will be middle and high school computing and technology education teachers at the pre- and in-service levels.

The proposed tool will be the first of its kind to aid in the scaling of professional development, encourage self-directed learning for teachers, and provide ongoing support for teachers.

The objectives of the project are to:

Objective 1: Use ubiquitous technology in the form of an online tool to develop a professional development avenue for STEM teachers

Objective 2: Create a framework for using technology to provide professional development for teachers.

Objective 3: Evaluate the impact of the project on the long-term STEM engagement plans of the teachers.

Objective 4: Stimulating the interest of undergraduate students in Computer Information Systems and Education in interdisciplinary research in education and computing, and the application of this research to real world practices.

The following research questions will be answered after this project is completed:

1)      How effective is an online professional development tool for STEM teachers, as measured by their continuous use of the tool?

2)      Does this method of professional development increase self-efficacy of the STEM teachers?

3)      What challenges will teachers face using an online professional development tool?

4)      Does the knowledge gained from the professional development translate to classroom use?

5)      Does participation in the professional development affect participants’ student interest in STEM?