Abstract

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in Canada faced a wide array of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected their attitudes toward online teaching and their pedagogical practices. Guided by self-regulated learning and the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study focuses on STEM teacher candidates’ (TCs’) preparation for teaching online in a digitally enriched STEM education course in a teacher education program at a Canadian university. The authors present a two-year study of different cohorts of TCs enrolled in the course and address the following research questions: (1) What attitudes and views toward online teaching are held by the two cohorts of STEM TCs? (2) What are the impact, successes, and challenges of the STEM course on TCs’ attitudes toward online teaching in each of the two cohorts? Adopting a mixed-method case study design, data sources in this study included pre-post questionnaires administered at the beginning and the end of the course. Overall, results show TCs’ initial negative attitudes toward online teaching, yet a positive impact of the course on enhancing their views and accepting and using online teaching. This research informs STEM teacher educators and researchers about the effectiveness of similar professional development practices to ensure high-quality online education for all students.