Effective implementation of novel pedagogies requires understanding teachers’ roles and responsibilities in the transformed classrooms. The student-centered class-room literature defines the teacher’s roles and responsibilities in classes that employ student-centered pedagogies, including various iterations of constructivist and inquiry-based instruction. According to Moustafa et al. (2013), in constructivist classes “the teachers’ role is to encourage and accept student autonomy and create a comfortable atmosphere for student expression,” acting as guides for their students (p. 418–419). Constructivist teachers behave in marked contrast to traditional instruction where teachers dominate the classroom and provide direct instruction focused on content knowledge acquisition. Friere saw teachers as partners of students who were pursuing agency as opposed to teachers being “positioned as enforcers, disciplinarians, and police officers” (Gutstein 2007, p. 424). Teachers who implement democratic STEM pedagogy must learn to share authority with their students, enabling the student to make instructional decisions that the teachers support and enact (Basu and Barton 2010). Again, specific examples of research in several student-centered instructional models illustrate common themes of impacts of student-centered environments. Researchers describe teachers in inquiry-based classes as catalysts, who act largely through guiding questions (Juntunen and Aksela 2013). According to Yukhymenko et al. (2014), “In a PBL environment, the teacher is not the information provider or classroom controller. Rather, the teacher facilitates, coaches, and models good problem solving skills for their students” (p. 102). Tamim and Grant (2013) identified four roles of teachers in PjBL classes: reinforcer, extender, initiator, and navigator. Thus, across the literature, teachers in different types of student-centered classes take on, or are supposed to take on, the roles of facilitators and instructional managers.

Teacher identity, Teacher roles, Peer leadership, Professional development, Student-centered classes