This research aimed at preparing an out-of-school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education program for secondary school students and investigating the effects of the program on students' interest in STEM fields. As part of this investigation, this study sought the students' awareness of a career in these fields as well as…

Technical and vocational education emphasizes the development and training of hand motor skills. However, some problems exist in the current career and aptitude tests in that they do not truly measure the hand motor skills. This study used the Nintendo Wii Remote Controller as the testing device in developing a set of computerized testing tools to…

The new science education reform documents call for integration of engineering into K-12 science classes. Engineering design and practices are new to most science teachers, meaning that implementing effective engineering instruction is likely to be challenging. This quasi-experimental study explored the influence of teacher-developed, engineering…

There is continued growth and development of outreach programs designed to increase pre-college students' awareness and understanding of engineering as a profession and as a career. These outreach programs vary in format and in the groups targeted for participation, but maintain the same fundamental goal of increasing participant knowledge of…

The present study examined the impact of introducing a mathematics infused engineering/technology education (ETE) curriculum on students' mathematics content knowledge and attitudes toward mathematics. The purpose of the present study was to: (a) compare the effects of a mathematics infused ETE curriculum and a control curriculum on student…

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the changes that were found to occur pre- to post intervention in students' cognitive structures (Mills, 2013; Knezek, Christensen, Tyler-Wood, & Periathiruvadi, 2013) continued to persist two years later. Major findings were: a) semantic perception of science and STEM as a career became more…

This study examines the use of engineering design to facilitate science reasoning in high-needs, urban classrooms. The Design for Science unit utilizes scaffolds consistent with reform science instruction to assist students in constructing a design solution to satisfy a need from their everyday lives. This provides a meaningful context in which…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of engineering design classroom activities on conceptual change in science, and on attitudes toward and knowledge about engineering. Students were given a situated learning context and a rationale for learning science in an active, inquiry-based method, and worked in small collaborative…

With funding from the National Science Foundation, engineering schools at Northeastern University, Tufts University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Boston University joined forces in an effort to increase the number of girls who develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields during the middle school…