2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Ongoing Investigation of Elementary Teachers’ Engineering Self-Efficacy Following Their Participation in an Online Professional Learning Program

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

We have investigated changes in elementary teachers’ engineering self-efficacy as they participated in an ongoing online professional learning (PL) program. The research team, along with expert PL providers, designed this program to give teachers a foundational understanding of A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. These documents collectively call for engineering education that begins in elementary school. However, prior research shows that teachers report lower self-efficacy in engineering than in other subjects (e.g., math). Teachers’ engineering self-efficacy has been linked to their willingness to integrate subject-specific content in classrooms. Because teachers' self-efficacy may be influenced by content and pedagogical knowledge, and other variables, a plan of action was adopted that combined PL with modest supports. For this study the research team recruited elementary teachers from four states (CA, MT, ND, and WY). Individuals who taught in rural schools in each of these states were encouraged to join a year-long program, and this study includes participants who started in 2023 (n=75) and 2024 (n=2024). All participating teachers received intensive summer PL, delivered online with synchronous and asynchronous components. The online PL modeled shifts called for by NGSS and offered guidance for teachers as they introduced engineering practices into their classrooms. Then, during the following school year, teachers stayed connected as an online professional learning community and remained engaged in PL activities. Likert-scale surveys were administered electronically before and immediately after the summer PL, along with a delayed post-PL survey at the end of the school year. These surveys included scales of the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM that targeted teachers’ engineering self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. Additional survey items were used to collect information about their individual background characteristics. Using data collected at three time points, we pursued research questions examining the immediate impacts of the PL on teachers' self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, plus the sustainability of these changes over time. Pairwise comparisons were made across time points within the year-long program, and multiple cohorts (2023, 2024) were included in these analyses (n=165). The 2024 cohort participants’ self-efficacy became increasingly positive over the 2024-2025 academic year, along with their reported outcome expectancy. The 2023 cohort teachers who stayed active in the PL program also reported increases in their self-efficacy, which were significant, during their second year.

Authors

Prof. Ryan G. Summers University of North Dakota [biography]

Ryan Summers is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice.
Dr. Rebekah J Hammack http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8621-1006 Purdue University – West Lafayette (College of Engineering) [biography]

Rebekah Hammack is an Assistant Professor of K-8 Science Education at Purdue University. She served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Learning. Dr. Hammack’s research focuses on the connection of local knowledge and context to STEM interest and identity development in youth, particularly rural and Indigenous youth in elementary and middle grades, as well as how elementary teachers develop teaching efficacy and identity as STEM educators. Through her research, Dr. Hammack aims to advance understanding of how to enhance STEM education in rural schools and communities, providing opportunities to meet the unique needs of underserved rural students.
Julie Robinson University of North Dakota [biography]

Dr. Julie Robinson is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota and the Director of UND’s Center for Engineering Education Research. Her research explores strategies for broadening access and participation in STEM, focusing on culturally relevant pedagogy in science and engineering. She also investigates strategies for increasing representation in STEM through teacher professional learning opportunities and by exploring the impact of group gender composition on girls’ motivation and engagement. Dr. Robinson is a PI and Co-PI on several NSF sponsored grant projects which focus on teacher professional learning and self-efficacy with implementing culturally relevant engineering education, connecting to place and community, and centering culture and Indigeneity within STEM education. Dr. Robinson has over twenty years of K – 12 teaching experience, including seven years as a teacher leader of professional development in the Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, and in elementary science and engineering pedagogy.
Martha Inouye University of Wyoming
Min Jung Lee University of North Dakota
Dr. Jenna Gist Purdue University – West Lafayette [biography]

Dr. Jenna Gist is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at Purdue University, and Adjunct Professor at American University. Her research interests center on the learning and development of preservice and inservice elementary teachers, with a focus on supporting high-quality science and engineering instruction. Dr. Gist also currently serves as the Assistant to the Executive Director for the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE).
Meghan Macias
Ashley Iveland

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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