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Engineering-Based Problem Solving In The Middle School: Design And Construction With Simple Machines, Lyn D. English, Peter Hudson, Les Dawes
Engineering-Based Problem Solving In The Middle School: Design And Construction With Simple Machines, Lyn D. English, Peter Hudson, Les Dawes
Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)
Incorporating engineering concepts into middle school curriculum is seen as an effective way to improve students’ problem-solving skills. A selection of findings is reported from a STEM-based unit in which students in the second year (grade 8) of a three-year longitudinal study explored engineering concepts and principles pertaining to the functioning of simple machines. The culminating activity, the focus of this paper, required the students to design, construct, test, and evaluate a trebuchet catapult. We consider findings from one of the schools, a co-educational college, where we traced the design process developments of four student groups from two classes. The …
Determining The Effects Of Pre-College Stem Contexts On Stem Major Choices In 4-Year Postsecondary Institutions Using Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling, Ahlam Lee
Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)
Many STEM studies have focused on traditional learning contexts, such as math- and science-related learning factors, as pre-college learning predictors for STEM major choices in colleges. Few studies have considered a progressive learning activity embedded within STEM contexts. This study chose computer-based learning activities in K-12 math classrooms, as a major pre-college learning predictor for STEM major choices. Using a nationally represented sample drawn from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002/06, the purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the influence of computer-based learning activities in math classrooms on STEM major choices in 4-year postsecondary institutions and (b) …