Embedding Safety in Integrative STEM Teaching Methods Courses for Pre-Service Elementary Educators

Academic standards in the United States advocate for the integration of science, and technology and engineering (T&E) content and practices within the elementary grades (ITEEA, 2020; NGSS Lead States, 2013). However, elementary educators often receive limited preparation for developing and facilitating safer hands-on science and T&E learning experiences (Love, 2017a), which can contribute to their reluctance to integrate science and T&E instruction. This study addresses the issue by examining changes in elementary pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) views toward safety and perceived preparation to safely infuse design-based science and T&E instruction following participation in an integrative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education (Wells & Ernst, 2015) methods course. A cohort of 27 elementary PSTs were split into two class sections. The control group participated in a safety jigsaw lesson the first day of classes, whereas the experiment group participated in a safety warm-up activity at the beginning of every class throughout the 15-week semester. Findings indicate all participants reported significant gains in self-efficacy and expected outcomes toward safety, views about the percentage of time elementary integrative STEM lessons should include hands-on learning experiences, perceived knowledge of integrative STEM safety concepts, and perceived ability to safely teach integrative STEM lessons. Further analyses revealed no significant differences between the two class sections. Results suggest that, in addition to emphasizing and demonstrating required safety protocols before any activity, varying strategies used to embed safety instruction in methods courses can significantly increase elementary PSTs’ views toward safety in integrative STEM education.