Challenges in STEM Teaching: Implication for Preservice and Inservice Teacher Education Program

Abstract As former and current STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) school teachers in Singapore, we explore the challenges we both experienced while teaching at different STEM schools. Through this article, we make a case for the teacher preparation programs locally and around the world to give more attention to a changing education landscape with emerging specialized STEM schools. Nonetheless, even though specialized STEM teacher preparation is needed, we also caution that having such a specialized program may limit teachers' horizontal transition to mainstream schools and awareness of the contextualized needs of more diverse learners. Notes 1. In Singapore, gifted education programs are offered only in the elementary (Grades 1–6) schools. 2. Based upon the performance scores attained at the Primary School Leaving Examination taken at the end of grade 6, students are tracked into express, normal academic, and normal technical streams in mainstream secondary school education. For each academic track, there is a prescribed syllabus for each subject. Students placed on the Express track will go through 4 years of education that culminate in the GCE O-level examination. On the other hand, students placed on the Normal Academic and Normal Technical tracks will go through 5 years of secondary education and take the GCE O-level and GCE N-level examinations at the end of the fifth year respectively. 3. Refer to the Singapore Ministry of Education Web site for information on career tracks for teachers: www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/career-info/. 4. This means that Author 2 is currently on loan to the STEM school, which is an independent school even though it is still overseen by the Ministry of Education.