Teachers’ roles and identities in student-centered classrooms

BACKGROUND: Students and teachers in twenty-first century STEM classrooms face significant challenges in preparing for post-secondary education, career, and citizenship. Educators have advocated for student-centered instruction as a way to face these challenges, with multiple programs emerging to shape and define such contexts. However, the ways to support teachers as they transition into non-traditional teaching must be developed. The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts on educators of teaching in student-centered, peer-mediated STEM classrooms and preparing student peer leaders for their roles in these classes. Research questions examined how teachers think about themselves as they implement student-centered pedagogy, the difficulties they face as their roles and identities shift, and the ways they grow or resist growth. Qualitative research conducted at two urban secondary schools documents the diverse experiences and responses of teachers in an innovative, student-centered STEM instructional program. The experiences and perceptions of 13 STEM teachers illuminate the possibilities and challenges for teachers in student-centered classrooms. RESULTS: All participating teachers described multiple benefits of teaching in a student-centered classroom and differences from traditional classrooms. Their transitions to this type of teaching fell into three major categories based upon past identities and current beliefs. Some teachers found the pedagogy consistent with preexisting identities and embraced it without radical change to their concepts of teaching. They described ways in which the model helped them become the teachers they had always wanted to be. Other teachers, who initially identified as deliverers of STEM content, had more difficult experiences adjusting to student-centered instruction. In one case, a teacher resisted change and exited the program, maintaining her identity and deciding not to become student-centered. Other participating teachers made dramatic shifts in their identities in order to implement the program. These teachers described significant learning curves as they shared responsibility for student learning with student leaders. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that radically changing the learning environment can affect teachers’ identities and their approaches to teaching in predictable ways that can inform teacher education and professional development programs for STEM teachers, maximizing the success of teachers as they implement student-centered pedagogy.