MATHEMATICS

TERM OF REFERENCE 2:
THE BEST METHODS OF SUPPORTING THE CURRENT COHORT
OF STEM TEACHERS WITHIN THE SYSTEM (WITH A PARTICULAR
FOCUS ON CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
Introduction
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is aligned with a vision of teachers as lifelong
learners. This lifelong learning is necessary in the STEM disciplines, to update and improve both
subject knowledge (the ‘what’ of STEM teaching) and pedagogical knowledge (the ‘how’ of STEM
teaching). A high quality, sustained, coherent, and supportive model of CPD has the potential to
incentivise and support teachers throughout their teaching life, and to harness existing and
potential links between formal and informal CPD providers. Following a comprehensive
consultation process with teachers and other stakeholders, the Teaching Council, the statutory
regulator and professional standards body for teachers, has developed a framework for
teachers’ learning. Having adopted the framework, the council is now embarking on a
development process, whereby teachers will explore the framework and trial aspects of it in
their particular context. The development process will conclude in 2019 in advance of
implementation in 2020.
Current practice
Formal CPD for STEM teachers is usually motivated by imminent changes to the school
curriculum. It is available as activities in individual STEM subjects packaged in units, modules or
workshops. These opportunities are made available through a number of providers including
DES Support Services, Education Centres, Teacher Education Colleges, HEIs, IOTs, Science and
Mathematics Education Centres, subject associations, and professional and learned societies
(See Appendix III).
STEM EDUCATION IN THE IRISH SCHOOL SYSTEM
Formal CPD is generally targeted at specific pedagogical content knowledge 3 (PCK), such as
inquiry-based science learning or assessment. However, apart from a small number of STEM
postgraduate diplomas and Master’s/PhD programmes in Education (Science/Mathematics),
there are very few programmes of STEM education on offer for post-primary teachers. CPD on
the revised Junior Cycle Science Specification commenced in 2016. Subject-specific CPD will be
provided for other STEM subjects as they are introduced.
There is evidence of best practice from the DES Support Services and others in the practices
surrounding CPD for STEM teachers in school-based collaborative work, evidence-based
approaches, integration of new material and the use of ICT.
3
The concept of PCK refers to teachers’ interpretations and transformations of subject-matter knowledge in the context of facilitating student
learning.
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