Table 2 Characteristics of observed participants

Teacher 1

62-year-old White male, 30 total years teaching (two teaching FoTE). Attended half-day FoTE training. Did not complete a higher education course on STEM integration. Two biology and technology education methods courses in their undergraduate studies. Helped with TSA, Odyssey of the Mind, and Science Olympiad. Facilitated six or more tech ed PD sessions. Attended a national tech ed conference. Collaborated with math and physics teachers once a month

Teacher 2

47-year-old White male, 10 total years teaching (eight teaching FoTE). Attended a 1-week FoTE training. Completed a higher education course on STEM integration. Had a B.S. in business education, Grad Cert. in tech ed. Father was a civil engineer. One physics and four space science courses in undergrad, two graduate courses in physics, bio, and chem. Helped with VEX robotics, Served on two science and six or more tech ed committees. Attended state engineering education and national science conferences. Collaborated with physics teachers once a week, math and chem teachers once a semester

Teacher 3

24-year-old White female, two total years teaching (two teaching FoTE). Attended 1-week FoTE training. Did not complete a higher education course on STEM integration. Had a B.S. in tech ed. Preparation program focused heavily on manufacturing skills. No graduate coursework. No science courses in high school. Helped with TSA. Attended state engineering education conference. Spent 6 h in an online PLC. Collaborated with bio, physics, chem, earth science, space science, and math teachers on a daily basis

Teacher 4

47-year-old White male, 13 total years teaching (five teaching FoTE). Attended a half-day FoTE training. Completed a higher education course on STEM integration. Former engineer with a B.S. industrial engineering. Graduate coursework in career and tech ed. Two bio and chem courses in high school. Four physics, two bio, and one space science courses in their undergraduate studies. Participated in EbD assessment writing summer workshops. Delivered two or more workshops in both science and engineering education. Completed three summer institutes about teaching science in engineering education

Teacher 5

56-year-old White male, 33 total years teaching (four teaching FoTE). Attended a half-day FoTE training. Completed a higher education course on STEM integration. Had a B.S. in tech ed and a Master’s in tech ed. Completed one physics course in high school and two in their undergraduate studies. Took three electronics and two robotics undergraduate courses. Also completed one space science and one robotics graduate course. Participated in the teacher in space program and delivered workshops for ITEEA. Previously held engineering education supervisory roles at the county and state levels. Past president of a national engineering education organization. Helped write and pilot the Standards for Technological Literacy. Collaborated with physics and bio teachers once a year, and earth and space science teachers once a month

Teacher 6

61-year-old White male, 28 total years teaching (10 teaching FoTE). Attended a 1-week FoTE training. Did not complete a higher education course on STEM integration. Previously owned a home remodeling business and worked for an engineering firm in the summers during college. Had an Ed.S. degree in tech ed and was National Board Certified in career and technical education. Helped with FIRST robotics. Completed a summer institute for teaching science in engineering education. Annually attended the state engineering education conference. Spent over 6 h participating in science discussion groups, PLCs, and consulting with a science curriculum specialist. Participated in an engineering education PLC for 16–35 h. Collaborated with a physics teacher once a month

Teacher 7

59-year-old White male, 21 total years teaching (six teaching FoTE). Attended a 1-week FoTE training. Completed a higher education course on STEM integration. Had a B.S. in tech ed. Previously worked in the HVAC field. Completed one space science and no physics courses in their undergraduate studies. Delivered six or more engineering education workshops. Delivered weeklong FoTE training sessions for his school system each year. Annually attended state science and engineering education conferences. Participated in 6–15 h of online science education discussion groups. Collaborated with engineering education teachers 2–3 times per week

Teacher 8

25-year-old male of multiple races, three total years teaching (three teaching FoTE). Attended a 1 day FoTE training. Did not complete a higher education course on STEM integration. Had a B.S. in physical education and a Grad Cert in tech ed. Completed one bio, chem, physics, and earth science course in high school. Also completed one bio, chem, and electronics course in their undergraduate studies. No teaching methods courses completed in their undergraduate coursework. Participated in 6–15 h of workshops about teaching science in engineering education. Served on three school system engineering education task force committees. Spent 35 + hours completing in-service training and participating in online PLCs relate to engineering education