Designing a competencies framework for STEM teaching for pre-teachers of chemistry in the University of Education for meeting the new demands of current teacher training
KHOA HỌC, GIÁO DỤC VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ
Designing a competencies framework for STEM teaching for
pre-teachers of chemistry in the University of Education for
meeting the new demands of current teacher training
Hoang Thi Chien
Thai Nguyên University of Education
he STEM education teaching approach (STEM
teaching) has been one of the important orientations of
T
the Vietnamese general education program. However, thus far
there has been no competency framework for STEM teaching
in our country. A competency framework for STEM teaching
would include two important things. With this framework,
learners would have complete control when setting up their
plan, finding information, defining the learning content
methodologies and providing multi-subject knowledge at the
beginning of a procedure. Furthermore, it can be orientated
to evaluate the expression level of each student. This paper
presents the process of designing a competency framework
for a STEM teaching and suggests the ways to use this
framework at the University of Education.
Received: 27/5/2019
Reviewed: 3/6/2019
Revised: 7/6/2019
Accepted: 12/6/2019
Released: 21/6/2019
DOI:
Keywords: Competency framework; STEM teaching;
University of Education; Chemistry pre-teacher.
1. Introduction
a teaching process. The Ministry of Education
and Training has actively implemented activities
to form and develop STEM education-oriented
teaching capacity for upper secondary teachers by
guiding the implementation of integrated teaching,
theme-based teaching, developing plans for each
subject in the orientation of improving the capacity
and qualities of learners in implementing the task
plan for the school year, designing and organizing
teaching activities in association with production
and business, etc. [4].
STEM educating is one of the most essential
educational trends in many countries in the world
and is paid suitable attention under the period of
educational reforming in Vietnam. In the new
general education curriculum being implemented
in 2019, STEM education is defined as a teaching
method via Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics, which is an integrated approach
to education, interdisciplinary from two or more
fields among Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics, in which the content is linked to
reality, teaching method is action-oriented [1].
In the new general education curriculum,
subjects in the natural scientific fields (Physics,
Chemistry, Biology) are STEM’s subjects. The
content of these subjects are supposed to ensure
the development of knowledge and practical skills
on the basis of common capabilities and learning
capacity, meeting the requirements of orientation
in specific occupations, helping students decide on
their careers based on their hobbies and abilities.
[2, p. 19]
There is no STEM-oriented framework of
competency for teachers and pre-teachers, in
general, and Chemistry ones, in particular. The
research and development of the framework
of competency mentioned above is of much
theoretical and practical significance. It can
support the measurement and evaluation of STEM-
oriented teaching competencies that are relevant
to the domestic context, while providing the right
direction in fostering and developing this capacity
for Chemistry teachers and pre-teachers.
2. Methods
However, it is a fact that not all teachers and
educators understand the true meaning of STEM
and STEM education. Now, in the practice of
teaching, being trained to teach one subject only,
STEM-oriented teaching capacity of high school
teachers is, consequently, limited, not only in terms
of knowledge but also the method to organize
2.1. An overview of STEM education and
STEM-oriented teaching competency
2.1.1. An overview of STEM education
STEM stands for Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math. The term STEM is often
used in the context of education and professional.
In the context of education, STEM is synonymous
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KHOA HỌC, GIÁO DỤC VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ
with STEM education, which is understood as using interdisciplinary teaching associated with practical
scientific and mathematical evidence to explore issues. There are many STEM-oriented teaching
the natural and human world, enhance and resolve subjects in the natural sciences that are developed
issues of life. [5]
and implemented effectively by teachers [6].
From the perspective of education and in the
The STEM-oriented instructional process
Vietnamese context, STEM education, on the one used in a chapter or a lesson in teaching science
hand, fulfills the educational objectives stated in is described in the following steps: Problem
the general education curriculum. On the other introduction
-
Exploration
-
Explanation
-
hand, STEM education aims at developing typical Extension - Assessment , following the model
features of STEM subjects, thereby improving core of 5E (Engagement - Exploration - Explanation
competencies and orienting career students [3, p. 7]. - Elaboration - Evaluation) [9. The main idea of
STEM-oriented teaching is based on the connection
of knowledge in different fields: science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, as well
as practical situations. hence, the scientific basis of
STEM-oriented teaching are of integrative teaching
theory, capacity-driven instruction, and it has the
intrinsic nature of integrated teaching and capacity-
oriented instruction. The characteristics of STEM-
oriented teaching are: Integrity, Design-ness and
Comprehensiveness [3, p. 11].
According to Assoc. Nguyen Xuan Thanh
(2017): STEM educating is an integrated education
approach (Science - Technology - Engineering -
Math), not a subject, in which lessons are developed
on the theme of STEM, integrating science and
math knowledge with problems in technology,
engineering and reality. Thus, students are enabled to
learn the scientific knowledge, and how to apply it in
practice. In each STEM-themed lesson, students are
given a problematic situation that is in relation to the
knowledge they are going to study during the lesson.
Based on the above analysis, in combination with
In order to solve that problem, students must research the definition “Capacity is a personal characteristic
and study the subject matter related to that problem which is formed, developed by the innate abilities
(through textbooks, learning materials, laboratory and the process of learning, training, allowing
equipment, technology equipment) and use them to people to mobilize aggregate knowledge, skills
solve the problem. As a result, STEM education will and other personal attributes such as excitement,
help to achieve the goal of developing the capacity beliefs, wills, etc, successfully implement a certain
and quality of students to meet new requirements. type of activity, achieving desired results under
Students will easily acquire the knowledge specific conditions [2, p.36], we believe that the
associated with their applications in technology and STEM-oriented teaching competency is the ability
engineering; use learned knowledge to innovate in of individuals’ to combine integrative teaching
science, technology and engineering. [6]
Each STEM-themed lesson is geared toward
an application product that students need to
and targeted instruction when teaching a subject
connected to practice.
2.2. The proposed structure of STEM-
complete but it should not being identified with oriented teaching framework of competency for
manufacturing product. It is important for students Chemistry pre-teachers
to apply scientific knowledge to “design” and
then “execute”. Thus, new students develop the
necessary skills of an “engineer” rather than a
“craftsman”.
2.1.2. An overview of STEM-oriented teaching
competency
2.2.1. Process of capacity building
Step 1- Researching and identifying the bases
for establishing the framework: We have studied
STEM-related materials, integrated teaching
capabilities, and teaching capabilities of Chemistry
teachers with a view to build the structure of the
The concept of STEM-oriented teaching STEM-oriented teaching framework of competency
competency has not been defined in the standards in accordance with the realities of education in
of college-level teachers.
the new period. Here is the detailed list of the
documents:
1) General education curriculum;
2) Provisions on professional standards of high
school teachers;
3) Standardized output of pedagogical students
in Chemistry under the curricula of Universities of
Education;
4) The objectives and tasks of Chemistry in
general schools;
In STEM educating as well as other positive
teaching methods, the teacher acts as the organizer,
examiner, orienting man; students actively gain
knowledge and apply it in solving practical
problems. STEM-oriented teaching has been guided
by the Ministry of Education and Training for many
years through the teaching of the topic “Integrating,
Interdisciplinary”, planning the lesson with STEM-
oriented theme for lessons with practical contents.
Accordingly, teachers, teams / groups are assigned
the right to actively build the topic of integrated and
5) Objectives and structure of the module
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Table 1: Description of structure of STEM-oriented
teaching competency
“Methods of teaching Chemistry in high schools”
in pedagogical schools.
Step 2 - Identifying component competencies:
Proposing component competencies,
Component
Criteria
competency
Step 3 - Defining the criteria for component
competencies: Describing the manifestations of
each competency, developing criteria for each
component competency, proposing a draft of the
framework of competency that includes component
competencies and criteria attached.
Step 4 - Describing in detail the manifestations
of the criteria in the framework by level:To facilitate
the design of the assessment tools for students,
we propose a system of criteria describing the
competency level corresponds to the performance.
Criterion 1: Selecting the
specific content of the subject
Criterion 2: Linking between
the content with products
1) The ability to build which are important and
up STEM-oriented
educational topics
feasible in the real life
Criterion 3: Analyzing the
application and use of the
products in the real life
Criterion 4: Forming a topic
Step 5 - Reviewing, adjusting, supplementing
and completing the framework of competency: The
table of criteria is also reviewed and adjusted after
being consulted by experts.
2.2.2. The structure of STEM-oriented
teaching competencies
Basing on [3] and [8], we have defined the
structure of STEM-oriented teaching competency,
which includes the following components:
1) The ability to build up STEM-oriented
educational topics: It is the ability of students to
select the specific content of the subject, rearrange
it, make the connection between that content with
the products in the real life, analyze their use,
indicate the relevant knowledge in the STEM fields,
form a topic.
Criterion 5: Identifying the
target of the topic
Criterion 6: Designing learning
activities and tasks; assigning
tasks
2) The ability to design
and organize STEM
teaching activities
Criterion 7: Effectively
executing the activities
Criterion 8: Applying
information technology
Criterion 9: Designing tools
to assess knowledge and skills
belonging to STEM
3) The ability to test
and evaluate in STEM
teaching
Criterion 10: Utilizing the
assessing tools
From the STEM-oriented framework of teaching
competency, we propose four basic levels from low
to high capacity as follows:
Level 1: Students’ competency is low; it needs
to be formed.
Level 2: Students’ competency is at medium
level (initially formed); it needs to be fostered.
Level 3: Students’ competency is at a good level
(formed); it needs to be fostered to develop.
Level 4: Students’ competency is at a high level
(formed and developed); it needs to be maintained.
Based on the descriptions of these basic levels,
we describe in detail the level of manifestation of
competencies through the following criteria:
2) The ability to design and organize STEM
teaching activities: It is the ability of the students
to define the purpose of the topic, design learning
activities that are appropriate for the target, design
effective learning activities which can apply
information technology.
3) The ability to test and evaluate in STEM
teaching: It is the ability of students to design and
use effective STEM knowledge and assessment
tools.
Based on the definition of the STEM-oriented
teaching and the characteristics of the curriculum of
the Bachelor of Chemistry, a framework of STEM
teaching competency has been built as following:
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Table 2. Detailed description of STEM-oriented framework of teaching competencies of Chemistry pre-teachers
Level
Criteria
4
3
2
1
1) The ability to build up STEM-oriented educational topics
Analyze the characteristics The content of the
Criterion 1:
Selecting the
Analyze, identify the
scope of contents of the
Analyze the characteristics, but
not the scope of the contents of
of the content of the
chapter/unit, initially
recognize the relevant
practical issues.
chapter/unit has not been
analyzed, cannot address
the relevant practical
issues.
specific content chapter/unit, point out the the chapter/unite, point out the
of the subject
relevant practical issues.
relevant practical problems.
Criterion
2: Linking
Cannot describe the
chemical products
in terms of form,
composition, properties,
uses, production, etc. in
practice.
Fully describe chemical
products in terms of form,
composition, properties,
uses, production, etc. in
practice.
Describe the chemical
products in terms of
form, composition, uses,
production, etc. according
to the textbook.
between the
content with
products which
are important
and feasible in
the real life
Not fully describe the chemical
products in terms of form,
composition, properties, uses,
production, etc. in practice
Criterion 3:
Analyzing the
application
and use of the
products in the
real life
Analyze in detail the
applications and benefits
and disadvantages of the
use and production of
products in life.
Analyze applications,
benefits and disadvantages the applications, benefits
of the use and production
of products in life but not
detailed and complete.
State without analyzing
Inadequately analyze in detail
the applications, benefits and
disadvantages of the use and
production of products in life.
and disadvantages of the
use and production of
products in the life.
The topic is formed by
re-arranging the contents
of the program, the name
and the content are in
accordance with practical
issues.
The topic is formed from
the available lessons,
with re-arrangement of
the name and content but
not suitable with practical
issues.
The topic is formed from the
available lessons, naming
and defining content that is in
accordance with the practical
issues.
The topic is formed from
the available lessons,
without re-arrangement
of the name and content
to suit the practical issues.
Criterion 4:
Forming a
topic
2) The ability to design and organize STEM teaching activities
The objectives are clearly
defined, full of components,
but sometimes use of cognitive components, use too many
verbs which are difficult to
measure.
The objectives are quite
clearly defined, full of
Criterion 5:
Identifying the clearly defined, full
objectives of
the topic
The objectives are
The objectives are not
clearly defined, not full
of components, not use
measurable action verbs.
of components, using
measurable action verbs.
cognitive words that are
difficult to measure.
Select and design
Design learning activities
in the sequences described
in textbook, suitable with
objectives; not describe
the objectives, content,
techniques and products in
details.
Criterion 6:
Designing
learning
activities and
tasks; assigning
tasks
Design learning activities
in the sequences described
in textbook, suitable with
objectives; describe the
objectives, content, techniques
and products in details.
Not design learning
activities in the sequence
described in textbook
which includes:
objectives, content,
techniques and products.
learning activities which
are suitable with the
objectives; describe
the objectives, content,
techniques and products
in details.
Organize learning
activities for students by
assigning tasks, encourage students by assigning tasks,
and help students to
operate, answer and
conclude. Students
complete the learning
products by themselves.
Not organize learning
activities for students by
assigning tasks; teacher
talking time is too much,
students do not work
to conclude and cannot
complete the learning
products.
Organize learning activities
for students by assigning
tasks, encourage and help
students to operate, answer
and conclude. Students
are guided to complete the
learning products.
Organize learning activities for
Criterion 7:
Effectively
executing the
activities
encourage and help students to
operate, answer and conclude.
Students are supported to
complete the learning products.
Apply information
technology in designing
lesson plans and
effectively delivering the
lessons.
Criterion 8:
Applying
information
technology
Apply information technology
in designing lesson plans,
but not effectively deliver the
lessons.
Apply information
technology in planning
lessons and teaching.
Not apply information
technology in planning
lessons and teaching.
3) The ability to test and evaluate in STEM teaching
Criterion 9:
Designing
tools to assess
knowledge and (tests) to evaluate STEM
skills belonging knowledge and skills.
to STEM
Design assessing tools
(tests) to evaluate STEM
knowledge and skills but
they are not reasonable and
logical.
Design reasonable and
logical assessing tools
Design reasonable but not
logical assessing tools (tests)
to evaluate STEM knowledge
and skills.
Not distinguish and
design assessing tools
(tests) to evaluate STEM
knowledge and skills.
Criterion 10:
Utilizing the
assessing tools
Use the assessing tools
effectively.
Use the assessing tools
ineffectively.
Unable to use assessing
tools.
Use the assessing tools.
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2.2.3. Use the STEM-oriented framework of
teaching competency in the professional training
for Chemistry pre-teachers
The framework of teaching competency plays
an important role in the development of STEM-
oriented teaching capacity of Chemistry pre-
teachers.
to be achieved, the learner is always watching the
progress of himself, his partner, his group, and the
lecturer also has accurate information which helps
to strictly control the progress of students for timely
measures.
Lecturers can use the above detailed description
of the levels of STEM-oriented teaching
competencies for Chemistry pre-teachers to assess
their level of performance. It is possible to calculate
the average of each student’s observation, or of
each student’s expression, and compare it with the
proposed four-grade table. Hence, lecturers can
assess the STEM-oriented teaching competency of
each student or the whole class. If the observation
point or grade point average is close to level 1, the
corresponding student’s capacity is low, which
should be improved. If the average grade point is
above 3, the student has a high level of competence,
which should be maintained.
This checklist can be used regularly for lecturers
and students to evaluate weekly or monthly.
By comparing the results of the cross-sectional
checklist, lecturers and students can evaluate the
development of competencies in the teaching and
learning process.
1) The framework plays a pivotal role in
developing STEM themes for students. With this
framework, students are provided with clear,
detailed information about the requirements for
STEM-oriented teaching competencies. As a
consequence, learners will be able to actively plan,
seek information, determine content, methods and
supplement knowledge at the beginning of the
training process. On the other hand, learners will be
more responsible with their studies by recognizing
theirownstrengthsandweaknesseswhencomparing
and contrasting the results obtained at the different
milestones which are differentiated by the criteria
described in the framework of competency. At the
same time, lecturers can also base on this framework
to select the content and learning methods that help
students train the capacity most effectively.
2) The framework of competency is the basis for
lecturers to develop competency assessment tools
for students. For effective training, assessment
should be done regularly during the training
process. Based on the competency framework,
trainers can design assessment tools (trainers-
trainees, peer review) and self-assessments such
as checklists, peer assessing forms, score, rubrics,
and so on. With detailed descriptions of the levels
3. Summary
After the process of constructing and using
STEM-oriented teaching framework of competency
in the module of Teaching Chemistry Methodology
at the Faculty of Chemistry, Thai Nguyen University
of Education in 2016 - 2017, 2017 - 2018, we have
achieved positive results. The framework has helped
lecturers to identify the objectives for students in the
Example: The checklist examining the STEM-oriented teaching competency of Chemistry pre-teachers
Convention: Level 1: 1 point; Level 2: 2 points; Level 3: 3 points; Level 4: 4 points.
Group:............................. Class:....................University of Education:..................
Students’ ordinal number
Expression of competency
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
…
Select the specific content of the
subject
1
2
3
Connect with products that have
important applications in practice
Analyze the application and use of
products in life
4
5
6
7
8
Form the topic
Determine the objectives of the topic
Design learning activities and tasks
Effectively organize learning activities
Apply information technology
Design assessing tools to evaluate
STEM knowledge and skills
9
10 Utilize assessing tools
Total results
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KHOA HỌC, GIÁO DỤC VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ
module, thereby developing the content of teaching process, which, consequently, helps them to know
and choosing more appropriate method of teaching. what to do and to improve for the best results. This
At the same time, more opportunities have been approach is perfectly suited to the requirements of
created for students to participate and evaluate the learner-developing-oriented teaching method.
References
content/Doc-String-in-chong-trinh-giao-duc-pho-thong-moi, accessed on 10/Oct/2018
[2] Ministry of Education and Training, Education Curriculum - General Program, 2017.
[3] Le Xuan Quang, Teaching Technology in the orientation of STEM teaching, Ph.D thesis, Hanoi
University of Education, 2017.
[4] Ministry of Education and Training, Official Letter No. 4612 / MOET-SSE, dated 03/10/2017,
Guiding the implementation of the current general education curriculum in the orientation of capacity and
quality development for students starting at the academic years 2017-2018.
thang_8_0.pdf / Training on STEM-oriented teaching methods - accessed on 15/Oct/2018
Schools: Not Just Theory - 6/May/2017.
[7] Ministry of Education and Training, OL 1891 /MOET-UE 5/May/2017: Promoting and developing
STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), applying interdisciplinary
knowledge to solve problems in life and production.
[8] Assoc. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Organizing teaching procedure in association with production and
business in the general education curriculum, Core Teacher Training Lecture - Dec/2017.
accessed on 15/Oct/2018
[10] Boston Children Museum, STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide, 2013
XÂY DỰNG KHUNG NĂNG LỰC DẠY HỌC STEM
CHO SINH VIÊN SƯ PHẠM HÓA HỌC ĐÁP ỨNG YÊU CẦU
ĐỔI MỚI ĐÀO TẠO GIÁO VIÊN HIỆN NAY
Hoàng Thị Chiên
Đại học Sư phạm Thái Nguyên
Tóm tắt: Dạy học theo quan điểm giáo dục STEM (dạy
học STEM) là một trong những định hướng quan trọng của
đổi mới chương trình giáo dục phổ thông Việt Nam. Tuy
nhiên, đến nay chưa có khung năng lực STEM trong dạy học
ở nước ta. Khung năng lực dạy học STEM mang đồng thời
hai ý nghĩa quan trọng. Một là: người học chủ động lập kế
hoạch, tìm kiếm thông tin, xác định nội dung, phương pháp
và bổ sung kiến thức liên môn từ khi bắt đầu quá trình rèn
luyện. Hai là: định hướng cho việc đánh giá mức độ biểu hiện
tương ứng cho từng sinh viên sư phạm. Bài viết trình bày quy
trình xây dựng khung năng lực dạy học STEM đồng thời đề
xuất một số cách sử dụng chúng trong quá trình đào tạo tại
các trường Đại học Sư phạm.
Ngày nhận bài: 27/5/2019
Ngày gửi phản biện: 3/6/2019
Ngày tác giả sửa: 7/6/2019
Ngày duyệt đăng: 12/6/2019
Ngày phát hành: 21/6/2019
DOI:
Từ khóa: Khung năng lực; Dạy học STEM; Đại học sư
phạm; Sinh viên sư phạm hóa học.
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