Picture students huddled around a 3D printer in a middle school classroom. They gaze at the object being printed, and exclamations of, "Where is that flag from?" "What does that symbol mean?" and "Oh; I didn't think of that!" can be heard. These examples of observation, curiosity, and critical thinking are the elusive…

This article presents an interesting design challenge for students, one that will certainly let them integrate subject matter and get a sense of pride for doing something useful in their own community. The author would be willing to bet that the average town or city has some old red brick manufacturing building(s) that have seen much better days.…

With the introduction of "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"), teachers have been called to find meaningful and engaging ways to teach science content while incorporating engineering practices and, to a lesser extent, computing and computational thinking. The task becomes even more complex when they also have to…

Preparing students to be competitive in the 21st century global economy is undoubtedly one of the major goals of all educators. Studies have shown that students who have an increased exposure to engaging STEM courses at the high school level are more likely to enter STEM majors at the collegiate level and, thus, STEM industries post-graduation…

This article describes an efficient peer evaluation process that can be implemented at the middle and high school levels, and that holds students accountable for their individual contributions in a team-based project. Teachers faced with this challenge will welcome the web-based peer-evaluation interface that was capable of soliciting student…

This article describes a cooperative project between eighth graders and first graders called "Going Green in the Neighborhood." The project entailed the first grade students sketching home designs on paper to make a model community, and the eighth grade students taking those drawings and making them into 3D computer models and then…