Abstract

The Goldberg Gator Engineering Explorers (GGEE) Summer and Afterschool Programs are informal learning programs hosted at schools in communities across Florida with the support of the Engaged Quality Instruction through Professional Development (EQuIPD) program at the University of Florida. These programs are designed to provide programming, computational thinking, and engineering design opportunities for middle school students and their teachers. Teachers selected by their respective schools or youth organizations to facilitate programs came from various backgrounds, subject areas, and prior experience with programming. Training and support were provided to ensure that these teachers were equipped with both the content knowledge and the confidence to facilitate the program. An IRB study explores the development of teacher self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) after participating in the preparation and facilitation of the GGEE summer programs. This paper discusses relationships between teacher self-efficacy and participation in the GGEE summer program and other relevant factors that may impact teacher self-efficacy, such as prior experience, coding skills, and subject area focus. There were significant increases in teachers’ coding skills and overall self-efficacy in STEM after participation in the summer program training and facilitation. Teachers shared how participating in the program impacted the way they think about their teaching and how they intend to implement STEM concepts from the program into their classrooms.

Keywords: teacher self-efficacy, K-12 teachers, informal learning, STEM, summer camps

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This paper was presented at the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference in Montreal, Canada.

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Recommended citation: Chisholm, K. D., Langham, S. L., Fernandez, K., & Ruzycki, N. (2025, June), Development of K-12 STEM Teacher Self-Efficacy through Participation in Goldberg Gator Engineering Explorers Summer Programs. Paper presented at the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference in Montreal, Canada.
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