Montana K-12 Educator Needs Assessment Survey Report 2020

Abstract

As part of the Education-Outreach-Diversity team for Montana NSF EPSCoR, the Science Math Resource Center (SMRC) in the Montana State University Department of Education sought to encapsulate the professional development (PD) needs and interests of Montana K-12 educators, with a particular emphasis on teachers of STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This report examines survey responses of over 200 Montana K-12 educators and presents descriptive and correlational findings in regard to: (a) educator and school district characteristics; (b) access to technological resources; (c) school/district strengths and weaknesses that impact PD implementation; (d) barriers to PD; (e) attitudes toward STEM PD; (f) PD location, delivery method, time, and duration preferences; (g) importance of and interest in PD topics; (h) usefulness of data set resources and interest in water quality data sets; and (i) interest in resources related to university research. Based on the presented findings, implications for designing and implementing PD for Montana K-12 educators are discussed.