Board 309: Improving Teachers' Attitudes Toward Sound and Waves Through the Connections with Music

Abstract Children can feel disengaged from STEM subjects taught in schools, which are often presented in ways that are not connected to their interests and everyday experiences. The subject of waves is fundamental for understanding a variety of scientific and engineering processes, from gravitation to telecommunications. Furthermore, the subject of waves presents an excellent opportunity to bring to the school activities connected to one of children's deepest interests: music. For this, we created Listening to Waves, a program that has been developing web applications and curricular activities that allow users to connect with the science of waves by playfully exploring and creating sound and music. Previous work by our team has shown that these types of activities can be powerful for engaging children in science, especially those typically underrepresented in STEM domains. However, a fundamental step for their spreading is that they are also engaging for teachers. To disseminate the program and evaluate its potential to engage teachers, we created a three-day professional development workshop for teachers serving underserved communities. We administered quantitative and qualitative surveys before the workshop, immediately after the workshop, and after the teachers implemented the materials in their classrooms. The surveys indicate that the experience improved teachers' attitudes toward the subject, including their comfort in teaching the subject, their enjoyment, and their perception of the children's enjoyment. This effect was particularly relevant for teachers who were not initially engaged, either because of a lack of experience or lack of knowledge. Taken together, these results indicate that activities connecting music and STEM have the potential to spread throughout the formal educational system by engaging teachers, and that they can be instrumental in engaging children in STEM. This research is funded by NSF's ITEST award "Increasing Students' Interest in STEM through the Science of Music."