{"id":276,"date":"2026-03-17T10:52:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/?p=276"},"modified":"2026-03-17T10:52:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:52:44","slug":"blended-mooc-impact-on-jamaican-teachers-demonstrated-stem-competency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/blended-mooc-impact-on-jamaican-teachers-demonstrated-stem-competency\/","title":{"rendered":"Blended MOOC Impact on Jamaican Teachers\u2019 Demonstrated STEM Competency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rationale<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Integrated STEM education is widely\u00a0recognised\u00a0as an effective approach for developing students\u2019 problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation skills\u00a0required\u00a0for the twenty-first century (Honey,\u00a0Pearson\u00a0and\u00a0Schweingruber, 2014; Bybee, 2013). In Jamaica, the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) promotes interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning through an integrated STEM approach (Ministry of Education,\u00a0Youth\u00a0and Information, 2016). However, research\u00a0indicates\u00a0that many primary and secondary teachers experience difficulties implementing STEM instruction due to limited pedagogical knowledge and insufficient access to sustained professional development opportunities (Bramwell-Lalor, 2019; Hylton, 2022; Sweeney and George, 2024).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although blended MOOCs have\u00a0emerged\u00a0as models for teacher professional development, limited empirical evidence exists\u00a0regarding\u00a0their effectiveness in enhancing\u00a0teachers\u2019\u00a0demonstrated competency in implementing integrated STEM teaching within the Jamaican primary education context (Margaryan, Bianco and Littlejohn, 2015).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This research proposes to design, implement, and evaluate a blended MOOC professional development\u00a0programme\u00a0intended to strengthen Jamaican primary school teachers\u2019 competency in designing and implementing integrated STEM instruction aligned with the National Standards Curriculum. The study addresses three research questions:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To what extent does participation in a blended STEM MOOC influence teachers\u2019 competency in designing and implementing integrated STEM instruction?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. How does the design of the blended MOOC support teachers\u2019 competency development?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. What challenges do teachers\u00a0encounter\u00a0when implementing integrated STEM instruction in their classrooms?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Methods<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        The study will employ a Design-Based Research (DBR<\/span>)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0methodology\u00a0within a mixed-methods research design to iteratively design, implement, and evaluate the intervention.\u00a0Approximately 40\u201350 Jamaican primary school teachers teaching Grades 4\u20136 will be recruited using criterion-based purposive sampling through collaboration with the Ministry of Education and school principals. The study will be conducted over 12\u201315 months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        The intervention will be implemented in two complementary phases. The first phase will involve a six-month asynchronous MOOC focusing on inquiry-based STEM pedagogy and the engineering design process. During this phase, teachers will engage with course materials, discussion forums, and learning activities while applying integrated STEM strategies within their classrooms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        The second phase will involve a subgroup of teachers\u00a0participating\u00a0in direct classroom<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>observations and semi-structured interviews to examine how they enact integrated STEM teaching in practice and to explore their experiences and challenges during implementation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Quantitative data will be collected through pre- and post-intervention classroom observations using the Demonstrated Integrated STEM Competency Scale (DISC<\/span>)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0analysed\u00a0using descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests to\u00a0determine\u00a0whether teachers\u2019 competency scores significantly improve following the intervention. Qualitative interview data will be\u00a0analysed\u00a0using Braun and Clarke\u2019s (2006) reflexive thematic analysis, while MOOC participation analytics and classroom observation data will be triangulated to enhance\u00a0credibility\u00a0and validity of the findings.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Expected Results<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        The study is expected to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that participation in a blended MOOC professional development\u00a0programme\u00a0can improve teachers\u2019 competency in designing and implementing integrated STEM instruction. The findings are\u00a0anticipated\u00a0to show how asynchronous online learning combined with classroom practice and feedback can support meaningful teacher professional development. The research is also expected to\u00a0identify\u00a0contextual challenges teachers\u00a0encounter\u00a0when implementing integrated STEM approaches and highlight key design features that support competency development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Dissemination<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Findings will be\u00a0disseminated\u00a0through conference presentations, including professional development forums hosted by the Jamaica Teachers\u2019 Association, as well as presentations to the Ministry of Education and academic publications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Conclusions<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        This research is expected to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on blended MOOC-based teacher professional development by providing empirical evidence from the Jamaican primary education context. It will also generate design principles for scalable and sustainable STEM teacher professional development\u00a0programmes, supporting national curriculum reform and strengthening teachers\u2019 capacity to implement integrated STEM instruction<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        References<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Braun,\u00a0V.\u00a0and Clarke, V. (2006) \u2018Using thematic analysis in psychology\u2019,\u00a0<\/span>Qualitative Research in Psychology<\/span><\/i>, 3(2), pp. 77\u2013101. Available at:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Bybee, R.W. (2013).\u00a0<\/span>The case for STEM education: challenges and opportunities<\/span><\/i>. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Honey, M., Pearson, G., and\u00a0Schweingruber, H. (eds.) (2014)\u00a0<\/span>STEM integration in K-12 education: status, prospects, and an agenda for research<\/span><\/i>. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available at:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17226\/18612<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Hylton, K. (2022) \u2018STEM education in Jamaica: a case of practitioners\u2019,\u00a0<\/span>International Studies in Educational Administration<\/span><\/i>, 50(2), pp. 46\u201359.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Margaryan, A., Bianco,\u00a0M.\u00a0and Littlejohn, A. (2015) \u2018Instructional\u00a0quality\u00a0of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)\u2019,\u00a0<\/span>Computers & Education<\/span><\/i>, 80, pp. 77\u201383.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Ministry of Education,\u00a0Youth\u00a0and Information (no date)\u00a0<\/span>National Standards Curriculum (NSC)<\/span><\/i>. Available at: Ministry of Education and Youth website. Accessed: 16 March 2026.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Sweeney, A.E. and George, L. (2024) \u2018STEM education in the Caribbean:\u00a0challenges,\u00a0goals, and\u00a0possibilities\u2019,\u00a0<\/span>Caribbean Journal of Education and Development<\/span><\/i>, 1(1), pp. 103\u2013110. Available at: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.46425\/cjed110101919<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Rationale\u00a0 Integrated STEM education is widely\u00a0recognised\u00a0as an effective approach for developing students\u2019 problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation skills\u00a0required\u00a0for the twenty-first century (Honey,\u00a0Pearson\u00a0and\u00a0Schweingruber, 2014; Bybee, 2013). In Jamaica, the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) promotes interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning through an integrated STEM approach (Ministry of Education,\u00a0Youth\u00a0and Information, 2016). However, research\u00a0indicates\u00a0that many primary and secondary teachers experience […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[170,74,171,57,168,169],"class_list":["post-276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-blended-moocs","tag-community-of-inquiry","tag-demonstrated-competency","tag-design-based-research","tag-integrated-stem-education","tag-teacher-professional-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions\/277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/H890Conference\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}