“Lưỡng nan sư phạm” trong tổ chức hoạt động STEM của sinh viên chuyên ngành Giáo dục mầm non: phân tích từ dữ liệu phản tư sau thực hành môn học

Tóm tắt

Early childhood STEM education has garnered growing attention as an approach to integrated, experiential learning that fosters young children’s exploratory thinking and problem-solving skills. However, when moving from campus-based coursework to real classrooms, pre-service early childhood teachers often encounter demanding decision-making situations, highlighting a gap between course expectations and practical constraints. This study analyses 27 written reflection forms produced by early childhood education majors after completing 12 theory-based sessions and three practicum teaching sessions in an early childhood setting, using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that students faced STEM-specific pedagogical dilemmas, including whether to scaffold children’s independent design or intervene to maintain lesson pace; whether to prioritise polished products or iterative testing and improvement; whether to pursue deeper dialogue or maintain activity flow; whether to keep materials open for exploration or tighten control for classroom order and safety; and whether to provide hands-on orchestration support or observe and document children’s STEM thinking. Overall,students were often hesitant to make in-the-moment pedagogical decisions in authentic classroom situations, tending to prioritise classroom control and time management over preserving the openness central to STEM learning. The results suggest that STEM preparation for early childhood education majors should emphasise pedagogical decision-making, questioning strategies, materials/space orchestration, and effective coordination between university instructors and school-based mentorteachers during practicum.