How to Influence Teachers and Students Motivation for STEM: Lessons Learned from Microsofts DreamSpace STEM 21CLD Educational Activity

This article reports on a research case study about raising the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career motivations of primary and secondary school girls and boys, while influencing teacher’s capacity to promote 21$^{st}$ century skills. Using a STEM focused 21$^{st}$ Century Learning by Design (STEM-21CLD) education activity, where teachers and students collaborate to design solutions to technology related problems, we established that teachers and student’s capacity for collaboration, creativity, problem-solving and using information technology was positively impacted. Over 350 primary and secondary students, and 54 teachers, were involved from 2017-2019. Using a concrete evaluation methodology exploiting both quantitative and qualitative data, collected before, during and after the activity, we analysed students’ and teachers’ experience to understand its impact. Our findings show the STEM-21CLD activity was successful overall. It has enhanced teachers and student’s confidence and capacity to use 21CLD skills, while STEM career intentions of students were positively associated with confidence to be creative and use AI. Younger girls were most impacted and showed stronger relationships with STEM-21CLD skills and STEM-career intentions. The findings suggest that the STEM-21CLD activity is useful in supporting the introduction of new pedogeological practices in teaching and can help to raise students STEM motivations.