Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Balloon Tower Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

This activity challenges students to build a safe and sound tower using only balloons and tape.

Bridge Building, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students learn about different bridge styles and designs in this activity that challenges them to build their own successful bridge.

Bubble Wand Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students use this activity to practice their engineering skills by building a bubble wand.

Activity Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=wx0-NrAnE6c&feature=emb_logo

Enhancing Student Veterans' Self-Efficacy And Sense Of Belonging In A Targeted Learning Community: Four Years Of Qualitative Results, Anthony W. Dean, Cynthia Tomovic, Vukica Jovanovic, Kim E. Bullington

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Eight semesters of qualitative data, collected over four academic years, are presented from a project that resulted in the development of a student professional learning community of high-achieving, low-income engineering and engineering technology student veterans. In the context of this project, student veterans received academic, professional, and financial support that helped them to be successful in school and to prepare them for a career in the STEM workforce. As adult learners, students in this learning community were a vital part of the curriculum development which resulted in increasing the students’ interest and buy-in. Typically, adult learners have lower levels of …

Scope Process: Fostering Students' Design Outcome Effectiveness, Andrew J. Hughes, Cameron D. Denson

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to help Technology and Engineering Educators scaffold engineering design and problem-solving experiences so that students taking technology and engineering courses will develop an improved ability to design. Technology and Engineering Education seems to increasingly focus on problem-solving, design, and engineering. Technology and Engineering Education is not the only discipline with this focus. The fact that both Science and Technology and Engineering Education are similarly focused on the teaching and learning of engineering begs the question of what separates technology and engineering educators from science educators in the teaching of engineering? Lewis (2004) cautioned that …

Making Makers: Tracing Stem Identity In Rural Communities, Jessie Nixon, Andy Stoiber, Erica Halverson, Michael Dando

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

In this article, we describe efforts to reduce barriers of entry to pre-college engineering in a rural community by training local teens to become maker-mentors and staff a mobile makerspace in their community. We bring a communities of practice frame to our inquiry, focusing on inbound and peripheral learning and identity trajectories as a mechanism for representing the maker-mentor experience. Through a longitudinal case study, we traced the individual trajectories of five maker-mentors over two years. We found a collection of interrelated factors present in those students who maintained inbound trajectories and those who remained on the periphery. Our research …

Stem Education In The Early Childhood Classroom, Julia Biagiotti

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This qualitative study focuses on the type of STEM education students are getting at the early childhood level (PK-2). Based on gaps found in literature, an interview protocol was created and six participants with various careers in the field of STEM education were interviewed. The research was concentrated on trying to determine what components of STEM education make it successful in the early childhood classroom. All of the interview responses were analyzed and coded and determined the results found below. A few integral parts of a successful STEM education seem to be curiosity, asking questions and a hands-on component, but …

Contributing To Engineering Colleges Students' Development Through Out-Of-Class Involvement: A Survey Of Chinese Private Colleges' Engineering Students, Wanlu Li

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the primary characteristics of engineering college students’ involvement in out-of-class activities (OA) at one private college in China through the use of the translated and culturally adapted Chinese version of the Postsecondary Student Engagement Survey (PosSES 2.1). This study provides the statistical analyses of the survey data completed by 283 senior engineering students on their perceptions about their levels of involvement related to positive/negative outcomes students perceive and affective engagement. Data results showed all levels of involvement have a significant influence on positive outcomes. Besides, active involvement degree, hours, and types of …

Early Engineering Experience (E3) Initiative, Danielle Nicole Carter, Rafael E. Landaeta

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This Work in Progress paper details an initiative designed to broaden exposure and attract increased interest in the study of engineering of a minority-serving institution (MSI) with a plurality of races represented. The University's student population where this initiative is being implemented consists of 26.2% African American and 6% that identify with two or more races. In contrast, the College of Engineering in this University is 20% African American; the freshmen class makes up 6.3% of this figure. By USDOE standards, this characterization is indicative of a predominantly white institution (PWI). According to the Bureau of Labor Statics, underrepresented minorities …

Instilling An Entrepreneurial Mindset In A New Generation Of First-Year Engineering Students Through A Graphics Course Project, Lulu Sun, Leroy Long Iii

Publications

Each year, an increasing number of engineering start-up companies emerge in the U.S. and around the world. Innovation and entrepreneurship have never been so pronounced, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. How can we train engineering students to be more entrepreneurially-minded so they are well-equipped to become global innovators? Engineering educators can use entrepreneurially-minded learning activities to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, which is a set of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. At a mid-sized Southeastern private institution, we used an open-ended team project and an end-of-semester poster competition within a freshman-level engineering graphics course to encourage …

Making Connections: Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program For Teachers Focused On Stem Integration, Judy Lambert, Carmen Cioc, Sorin Cioc, Dawn Sandt

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

This article reports on a 2-year evaluation of a STEM integration professional development (PD) program for 40 math, science, and special education teachers in Grades 5–9 from a large Midwestern public school district. The National Research Council’s framework for integrated STEM education (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014) was used to explain the goals, outcomes, nature and scope, and implementation of the program. Teachers were measured on their growth in STEM content knowledge, technology integration, teaching confidence, pedagogical beliefs, and impact of PD. Increases resulted in all these areas with statistically significant improvements in most of them, particularly in Year 2. …

Infographic: Institutional Barriers To Black And Latino Male Collegians’ Success In Engineering And Related Stem Fields, Leroy L. Long Iii, William Wanyagah

Publications

Infographic was created to support the article Institutional Barriers to Black and Latino Male Collegian's Success in Engineering and Related Stem Fields, which can be read here:

Approaches To Integrating Engineering In Stem Units And Student Achievement Gains, Elizabeth A. Crotty, Selcen S. Guzey, Gillian H. Roehrig, Aran W. Glancy, Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen, Tamara J. Moore

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

This study examined different approaches to integrating engineering practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units. These various approaches were correlated with student outcomes on engineering assessment items. There are numerous reform documents in the USA and around the world that emphasize the need to incorporate engineering into science education. The authors of this study contend that different approaches to integrating engineering in STEM units correlate to larger student achievement gains in engineering, based on assessment items developed from the Framework for Quality K–12 Engineering Education (Moore, Glancy, Tank, Kersten, & Smith, 2014). The goal of this work …

Cross Case Study Of An Elementary Engineering Task, John Heffernan

Doctoral Dissertations

Designerly play has been identified as a fundamental component of childhood learning (Baynes, 1994; Petroski, 2003). However, as students enter grade one and beyond, the increasing academic focus has resulted in the loss of opportunities for designerly play (Zhao, 2012). At the same time, there are increasing calls to increase the number, skill, and diversity of STEM workers (Brophy, Portsmore, Klein, & Rogers, 2008). The robotics based Elementary Engineering Curriculum (Heffernan, 2013) - used by students in this study - and other similar projects have the potential to increase the STEM pipeline but elementary engineering is not well-understood. Research is …

Work Integrated Learning In Stem In Australian Universities: Final Report: Submitted To The Office Of The Chief Scientist, Daniel Edwards, Kate Perkins, Jacob Pearce, Jennifer Hong

Kate Perkins

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this study for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). It explores the practice and application of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in STEM, with a particular focus on natural and physical sciences, information technology, and agriculture departments in Australian universities. The project involved a detailed ‘stocktake’ of WIL in practice in these disciplines, with collection of information by interview, survey instruments, consultation with stakeholders and literature reviews. Every university in Australia was visited as part of this project, with interviews and consultation sessions gathering insight from more than 120 academics and support …

Impacts Of Effective Temperature On Sectional View Drawing Ability And Implications For Engineering And Technology Education Students, Petros J. Katsioloudis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Temperature can influence thermal comfort, working performance, and social behavior. In a classroom that is slightly cool, an assumption can be made that learning could be affected in a negative way. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was done to determine if a significant difference of effective temperature have an effect on students’: a) spatial visualization ability, as measured by the MCT and b) ability to sketch a sectional view drawing. While not statistically significant, the students who received treatment using warm water outperformed their peers who received treatment using cold and hot water temperatures, respectively.

Internet Of Things, John Ritz, Zane Knaack

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The internet has not only made information searching and instantaneous communications possible, it has also expanded the development of smart products that can be connected and controlled over the internet. Automobile manufacturers have used these devices during the past decade to make cars safer and assist drivers with updated information on vehicle operation. Today many more products can be operated and controlled from a smartphone or computer. Depending on your level of desired internet-connectedness, many home products are coming to the market with IoT connectivity. Much data is being collected and acted upon through databases. These developments should enable machines …

Work Integrated Learning In Stem In Australian Universities: Final Report: Submitted To The Office Of The Chief Scientist, Daniel Edwards, Kate Perkins, Jacob Pearce, Jennifer Hong

Dr Daniel Edwards

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this study for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). It explores the practice and application of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in STEM, with a particular focus on natural and physical sciences, information technology, and agriculture departments in Australian universities. The project involved a detailed ‘stocktake’ of WIL in practice in these disciplines, with collection of information by interview, survey instruments, consultation with stakeholders and literature reviews. Every university in Australia was visited as part of this project, with interviews and consultation sessions gathering insight from more than 120 academics and support …

Work Integrated Learning In Stem In Australian Universities: Final Report: Submitted To The Office Of The Chief Scientist, Daniel Edwards, Kate Perkins, Jacob Pearce, Jennifer Hong

Dr Jacob Pearce

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this study for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). It explores the practice and application of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in STEM, with a particular focus on natural and physical sciences, information technology, and agriculture departments in Australian universities. The project involved a detailed ‘stocktake’ of WIL in practice in these disciplines, with collection of information by interview, survey instruments, consultation with stakeholders and literature reviews. Every university in Australia was visited as part of this project, with interviews and consultation sessions gathering insight from more than 120 academics and support …

Work Integrated Learning In Stem In Australian Universities: Final Report: Submitted To The Office Of The Chief Scientist, Daniel Edwards, Kate Perkins, Jacob Pearce, Jennifer Hong

Higher education research

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this study for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). It explores the practice and application of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in STEM, with a particular focus on natural and physical sciences, information technology, and agriculture departments in Australian universities. The project involved a detailed ‘stocktake’ of WIL in practice in these disciplines, with collection of information by interview, survey instruments, consultation with stakeholders and literature reviews. Every university in Australia was visited as part of this project, with interviews and consultation sessions gathering insight from more than 120 academics and support …

Teacher Influence On Elementary School Students’ Participation In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Courtney Hartman

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of elementary school teachers on encouraging students’ interest and participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The researcher sought to understand what methods teachers use in their classrooms to encourage students to participate in STEM subjects and programs. This mixed methods study consisted of a questionnaire to collect quantitative data, as well as an interview of selected teachers who participated in the questionnaire to collect qualitative data. The data was analyzed to determine the overall perceptions of teachers regarding the importance of encouraging students to participate in STEM. The qualitative …

Gender Differences In The Consistency Of Middle School Students’ Interest In Engineering And Science Careers, Marsha Ing, Pamela R. Aschbacher, Sherry M. Tsai

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

This longitudinal study analyzes survey responses in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade from diverse public school students (n = 482) to explore gender differences in engineering and science career preferences. Females were far more likely to express interest in a science career (31%) than an engineering career (13%), while the reverse was true for males (58% in engineering, 39% in science). After controlling for student and school demographic characteristics, females were as consistent as males in their science career interests during the three years of the study but less consistent in their engineering career interests. Knowing an engineer significantly …

Integrating Cognitive Science With Innovative Teaching In Stem Disciplines, Mark A. Mcdaniel, Regina F. Frey, Susan M. Fitzpatrick, Henry L. Roediger Iii

Books and Monographs

This volume collects the ideas and insights discussed at a novel conference, the Integrating Cognitive Science with Innovative Teaching in STEM Disciplines Conference, which was held September 27-28, 2012 at Washington University in St. Louis. With funding from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the conference was hosted by Washington University’s Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE), a center established in 2011. Available for download as a PDF. Titles of individual chapters can be found at http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/circle_book/.

Integrating Technology And Engineering In A Stem Context, Barry N. Burke, Philip A. Reed, John G. Wells, Robert E. Yager (Ed.), Herbert Brunkhorst (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Imagine students entering the classroom with an enthusiasm that cannot be contained. They come from all walks of life and with different experiences and backgrounds and are eager to engage in learning. Inspiration and innovation are on their mind. What they learned in their science and math classes is now being applied in another class they take called Technology and Engineering. Opportunity is what they see for their future. Something about connecting all the dots from all their classes propels them to change their outlook, to get involved, to get excited about school and to envision their future.

Defining Characteristics Of An Integrated Stem Curriculum In K-12 Education, Vinson Robert Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to obtain consensus concerning the defining characteristics of integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum. This study utilized a three round modified Delphi study to solicit recommendations from experts of STEM education in order to: 1) create a set of categorical and defining curricular components needed to develop and implement appropriate integrated STEM curriculum; 2) identify the characteristics that set integrated STEM education curriculum apart from single-discipline curricula; 3) discuss the components necessary to gauge whether an initiative, project, or curriculum should be referred to as integrated STEM education; and 4) examine whether …

Stem Initiatives: Stimulating Students To Improve Science And Mathematics Achievement, Robert Q. Berry Iii, Philip A. Reed, John M. Ritz, Cheng Y. Lin, Steve Hsiung, Wendy Frazier

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article focuses on how concepts in science, technology education, and mathematics show powerful relationships when it comes to student learning. Learning theorists believe that, through designed learning environments (contexts) and learning with hands-on projects, new knowledge can not only be learned, but learned in such a way that the knowledge can be transferred for other applications. Scholars in the applied sciences (school science, technology, and mathematics) believe that these subjects have transfer among themselves and that engineering activities can establish the contexts to learn these subjects, plus aid in the transfer of knowledge. This collaborative movement is referred to …

Bioengineering Instructional Framework For Technology Education, Philip A. Reed, Technology Education Department, Old Dominion University, Virginia Bioengineering Writing Team

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.