The three educator practice outcomes represent a comprehensive
approach to the measurement of effective practices for STEM
learning environments and are designed to address the measurement
issues in STEM educator practices that are outlined above in
the introduction of this paper. The construct definitions for both
instructional practices and pedagogical content knowledge are
derived from a literature review of STEM education fields resulting
in constructs that represent areas of commonality and the best
practices identified in the four disciplines. This merging of each
discipline’s findings represents an important move toward a new
interdisciplinary approach to improving K-12 STEM educator
practice and a first step in addressing the isolation of STEM
disciplines in current K-12 classrooms. The STEM Common
Measurement System’s three educator practice outcomes also shift emphasis from retention-oriented content-based instruction
to instruction that emphasizes deeper conceptual knowledge and
higher-order cognitive skills. Finally, the emphasis on instrument
selection that can be used across diverse contexts and in iterative,
formative cycles, rather than for solely summative evaluation
purposes, will be important in supporting teachers and informal
educators in adopting these practices that are key to student
college and career readiness outcomes in STEM.