Enhancing teachers’ TPACK for data science in STEAM education: Insights from a pilot professional development program in Cyprus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52041/iase25.136Abstract
In today’s data-driven world, education systems face growing pressure to equip students with data science literacy and critical thinking skills. While STEAM education offers a natural interdisciplinary setting for fostering these competencies, teachers often lack the confidence, training, and pedagogical strategies needed to integrate data science into their practice. The EU-funded DataScEd4CiEn project responds to this challenge by designing and implementing a Professional Development (PD) program tailored mostly for STEAM educators. This paper presents an exploratory study of a pilot implementation in Cyprus, aimed at investigating how the program supports teachers in adopting data- driven, interdisciplinary approaches. Using a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology, the study iteratively refines the PD model while collecting mixed-methods data to examine changes in teacher knowledge, instructional practices, and collaborative engagement. Preliminary findings highlight the transformative potential of targeted PD in advancing data science integration and empowering teachers to meet the evolving demands of 21st-century education.References
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