School Science and Mathematics. 2019;119:105–114. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ssm | 105 © 2019 School Science and Mathematics Association 1 | INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, STEM education (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) has become a priority in the United States (U.S.). The report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (2007), argued that the U.S. position within the global arena both economically and academically was losing ground in large part due to persistently lower student achievement in science and mathematics as demonstrated on international and national assessments. Further, the re- port also discussed the gap between the lack of STEM tal- ent and the needs of the workforce at all levels of education. According to the report, the U.S. ranked 24th out of 30 coun- tries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in mathematics and 17th out of 30 in science (OECD, 2007). Four key strategies emerged from this report (2007), which included: improving K–12 science and mathematics education, strengthening long‐term basic research, improving abilities to engage in and perform research, and ensuring the United States is the premier place in the world to innovate. Further, 2015 PISA rankings revealed the United States was 40th in mathematics, 25th in science, and 24th in reading out of 73 countries (OECD, 2016). Moreover, nearly 10 years have passed and unfortunately the situation has not improved. In the same year, Congress enacted the “STEM Education Act of 2015” to renew commitments to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the areas of formal and informal STEM education. For example, these investments have continued in recent years through other federal and state agencies, indus- try, and private foundations. A number of initiatives have focused on calls for inte- grating the STEM content areas over the course of K–12 schooling, moving away from the traditional approach of learning science or mathematics in isolation (National Research Council, 2011). Integrated STEM education has emerged as more than curriculum integration, which fo- cuses on combining two or more subject areas in a coor- dinated manner (e.g., Czerniak & Johnson, 2014; Johnson, Peters‐Burton, & Moore, 2015). Integrated STEM gets its roots from the progressive education movement of the early 1900s (e.g., Dewey, 1938) and more recently the con- structivist movement (Ellis & Fouts, 2001). An integrated STEM approach is necessary for dealing with the societal Received: 4 September 2018 | Revised: 16 September 2018 | Accepted: 16 September 2018 DOI: 10.1111/ssm.12318 RESEARCH PAPER ‐ INTEGRATED STEM EDUCATION The impact of integrated STEM professional development on teacher quality Wenbin Du 1 | Denghui Liu 1 | Carla C. Johnson 2 | Toni A. Sondergeld 3 | Virginia L. J. Bolshakova 2 | Tamara J. Moore 2 1 East China Normal University, Shanghai, China 2 College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 3 School of Education, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Correspondence Carla C. Johnson, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Email: carlacjohnson@purdue.edu Funding information Indiana Department of Education Abstract This study of a state‐funded, 3‐year implementation of an integrated STEM profes- sional development (PD) program for teachers from two middle schools in the mid- western U.S. examined if participants in the PD were enabled to transform their practice and perceptions of STEM. An integrated STEM approach includes a focus on the STEM disciplines, along with leveraging social studies/history and English/ language arts as important context and tools for solving society’s biggest challenges. Findings in this study indicated that teachers implemented more effective STEM teaching strategies and had more positive perceptions regarding STEM overall. Further, participants became more aware of their personal needs for resources and support to teach through integrated STEM. Implications for research and practice are discussed.