Transfer of STEM research for designing contextually relevant curriculum in Pakistan: A case study

This chapter presents a multiple case study of design, enactment, and redesign of contextually relevant curricular units reflecting how in-service teachers’ varied understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) shaped the curricular units differently. This work originated because of researcher practitioner partnership between a private, international higher education institution at Karachi, Sindh, and a school in Sukkur, Sindh, in Pakistan. During this partnership 18 teachers were engaged in integration of STEM through STEM-focused professional development that was coupled with coaching support using the science and mathematics concepts of grade 4–8 that are in line with the National Curriculum of Pakistan. This research used Design Based Research (DBR) as a methodological approach. Detailed analysis showed the evolution of participant teachers’ STEM conceptions. This study found engineering design challenge as a canvas for the varied level of integration and local contextually relevant problems captivated both teachers and students’ attention. The introduction to STEM offered active learning affordances to teachers and a visible inclusion of some STEM pedagogies was noticed in the classrooms. Participating teachers attributed their engagement in the design, enactment, and redesign of STEM curricular units as a unique hands-on learning that was seen as professional growth opportunity. Finally, this chapter concludes with offering implications for developing teachers’ understanding of STEM for the national level implementation of STEM in Pakistani schools.