STEM Journey Maps as Tools for Exploring Elementary Teachers' Experiences with Science and Engineering Instruction

Understanding teachers' experiences as they lived them and as they told them is important for conceptualizing a well-rounded view of the state of science education and the role teachers play in it. Journey mapping, a way of visualizing one's processes and experiences as they progress towards a goal, is a tool with the potential to capture teachers' lived experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' lived experiences as they work to provide science and engineering learning experiences for their students. This paper highlights the use of STEM journey mapping as a way of exploring teachers' lived experiences in their day-to-day practice. This study features the STEM journey map and subsequent narrative of a fourth-grade teacher, Elliot. The data analysis supported the argument that journey mapping was a powerful tool for exploring teachers' lived experiences.