“What you bring matters”: A Case Study of Middle School Engineering Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Precollege engineering teachers bring unique backgrounds to their teaching practice. Many follow nontraditional routes to teaching engineering, often coming from teaching other subjects or careers in other fields. Among the many variations influencing engineering teaching practices is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This multiple case study explores the PCK of five middle school engineering teachers implementing the same middle school engineering curriculum, STEM innovation and design (STEM-ID). STEM-ID engages students in contextualized challenges that incorporate foundational mathematics and science and advanced manufacturing tools such as computer-aided design and 3D printing while introducing engineering concepts such as pneumatics, aeronautics, and robotics. Drawing on observation and interview data collected over two semester-long implementations of STEM-ID, the study addresses the research question regarding what variations in PCK are evident among engineering teachers with different professional backgrounds and levels of experience. Five teachers were purposively selected from a larger group of teachers implementing the curriculum because they represent a range of professional backgrounds. The study utilizes the Refined Consensus Model of PCK to investigate connections between teacher backgrounds, personal PCK (pPCK), the personalized professional knowledge held by teachers, and enacted PCK (ePCK), the knowledge teachers draw on to engage in pedagogical reasoning while planning, teaching, and reflecting on their practice. Observation and interview data were triangulated to develop narrative case summaries, followed by cross-case analysis to identify patterns and themes across teachers. Findings describe how teachers’ backgrounds translated into diverse forms of pPCK that informed pedagogical moves and decisions teachers made as they implemented the curriculum (ePCK). Regardless of the previous subject taught (math, science, or English language arts), teachers routinely drew upon their pPCK in other subjects as they facilitated the engineering design process. In addition to contributing to the field’s understanding of engineering teachers’ PCK, these findings hold implications for the recruitment, retention, and professional development of engineering teachers.