Examining the Influence That Professional Development Has on Educators’ Perceptions of Integrated STEM Safety in Makerspaces

Integrated STEM labs and makerspaces have become increasingly common in P-16 schools, higher education residence halls, libraries, and community centers. Although these collaborative learning spaces provide increased access to cross-cutting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) practices, they pose inherent safety risks that are often overlooked. This study utilized a concurrent quasi-mixed design (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2006), to investigate changes in the safety perceptions of educators’ from 21 school districts. Pre- and post-survey ratings were mixed with content analyses from open-ended survey questions and accident report forms. The findings suggested that the PD experience had a significant influence on participants’ safety perceptions; however, there were no significant differences according to certification areas. The analyses also revealed female participants’ reported significantly greater safety self-efficacy gains than males. Additionally, 82% of the sample indicated the PD positively influenced their makerspace and integrated STEM safety knowledge. The findings indicate that high-quality safety PD can significantly influence educators’ perceptions (especially females) about safer integrated STEM teaching and learning in makerspaces. This study provides implications for STEM educators, librarians, administrators, teacher educators, researchers, state education departments, school district safety officers, and others to improve the safety of cross-cutting STEM learning occurring in collaborative environments.

This version of the article has been accepted for publication after peer review but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record of this article is published in the Journal of Science Education and Technology, and is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2. It is also available via Springer Nature SharedIT: https://rdcu.be/cFpnp

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Work Title Examining the Influence That Professional Development Has on Educators’ Perceptions of Integrated STEM Safety in Makerspaces
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Tyler S. Love
Keyword
  1. Makerspaces
  2. Integrated STEM education
  3. Engineering education
  4. Science education
  5. Library science
  6. Safety
License CC BY 4.0 (Attribution)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Journal of Science Education and Technology
Publication Date January 20, 2022
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
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Deposited January 07, 2022

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    • 10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
  • Added JOST Makerspace Safety Article Love in press.pdf
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  • Deleted JOST Makerspace Safety Article Love in press.pdf
  • Added JOST Makerspace Safety Article Love in press.pdf
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    Related URLs
    • https://www.springer.com/journal/10956
    • https://www.springer.com/journal/10956, https://rdcu.be/cFpnp
    Publisher's Statement
    • This version of the article has been accepted for publication after peer review but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record of this article is published in the Journal of Science Education and Technology, and is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2. It is also available via Springer Nature SharedIT: https://rdcu.be/cFpnp
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published

  • Created
  • Updated Related URLs Show Changes
    Related URLs
    • https://www.springer.com/journal/10956, https://rdcu.be/cFpnp
    • https://rdcu.be/cFpnp, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2.
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Version 5
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  • Created
  • Updated Related URLs Show Changes
    Related URLs
    • https://rdcu.be/cFpnp, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2.
    • https://rdcu.be/cFpnp, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword, Publisher, Publisher Identifier (DOI), and 2 more Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Makerspaces, Integrated STEM Education, Engineering Education, Science Education, Library Science, Safety
    • Makerspaces, Integrated STEM education, Engineering education, Science education, Library science, Safety
    Publisher
    • Springer
    • Journal of Science Education and Technology
    Publisher Identifier (DOI)
    • 10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
    • https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
    Related URLs
    • https://rdcu.be/cFpnp, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-022-09955-2
    • https://rdcu.be/cFpnp
    Publication Date
    • 2022-01
    • 2022-01-20
  • Renamed Creator Tyler S. Love Show Changes
    • Tyler Love
    • Tyler S. Love
  • Updated