Exploring a Co-Teaching Model to Teach Energy and Food Systems in STEM Integration Through the Lens of Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The researchers of this qualitative case study explored an interdisciplinary collaboration in STEM integration through the lens of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). We examined a co-teaching integrated STEM model of a biology teacher and a family consumer sciences (FCS) teacher who collectively taught 38 students in an urban secondary high school in the United States. We aimed to answer, “in what ways did the biology teacher and FCS teacher demonstrated their PCK in integrated STEM to teach energy through food systems?” The results showed energy was not the centerpiece in the integrated STEM lessons that teachers developed even though the overarching problem focused on food waste as wasted energy. The two teachers’ different disciplinary thinking and professional identities informed their pedagogical knowledge. In addition, when teachers developed integrated STEM lessons, their knowledge of students’ preconceptions was not positioned to emphasize students’ learning difficulties related to certain concepts, but helped them identify what students needed most in their daily learning. The teachers taught within their disciplinary knowledge and experiences when they designed integrated STEM instruction. Teachers may change their PCK by working collaboratively with teachers from other disciplines, but this may take multiple successions and years for teachers to understand and develop their collaborative PCK.