Integrated "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" (STEM) education is recognised as the latest development stage on the pathway to a highly capable future workforce, and is thus linked to a nation's future development and prosperity. However, despite various appeals and efforts by the Australian Government, effective…

Previous studies have demonstrated that the socio-scientific issue approach (SIA) and design thinking (DT) can inspire creative thinking in science learning. However, the way in which the integration of SIA and DT fosters creative thinking in entrepreneurship (CTE) among rural secondary school students during science learning remains unclear. To…

Advocacy of STEM curricular approaches is based on a concern to engage students in authentic disciplinary and interdisciplinary practices in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines, and the need to promote participation in STEM pathways. The "STEM Academy" professional learning program was developed to…

This study introduces a pedagogical model: "the parallel co-inquiry cycles with performative inquiry for character related design" for higher education design studies that focus on characterization. The disciplines benefitting from cross-fertilization provided by the model include game design, fashion design, graphic design, theatre, and…

What has been learned in the 75-year evolution of the teaching profession to implement technology as a subject and as a unique approach that supports Integrative STEM teaching and learning? In this article, Ronald Todd addresses this question by examining selected activities and efforts that: (1) have shown some success in enhancing the…

In most middle schools, learning is segregated by discipline. Yet interdisciplinary approaches have been shown to cultivate creative thinking, support problem solving, and develop interest while supporting knowledge gains (NAE & NRC in STEM Integration in K-12 Education: Status, Prospects, and an Agenda for Research. National Academies Press,…

International curricular redevelopment and quality improvement efforts include integration within and across disciplines as a focal point. Definitions and applications of the term 'integration' vary routinely in health professions education literature, weakening opportunities to enhance our educational practice through collaborative,…

Background: The Next Generation Science Standards accentuate engineering design along with scientific inquiry, emphasizing the relationship between scientific investigations and engineering design in solving problems and devising new ideas and technologies. The goal is for students to realize the importance of science and engineering in innovation…

Background: Few tools or rubrics exist to assess the quality of integrated STEM curricula, and existing tools focus on checklists of characteristics of integrated STEM. While such instruments provide important information about the presence and quality of certain curricular components, they do not assess the level and nature of integration of the…

With the single descriptive case study reported on here we aimed to explore incorporating indigenous knowledge (IK) into the teaching of graphic design (GD) as a part of Grade 9 Technology lessons. Incorporating IK into GD could make the topic more meaningful -- especially for indigenous learners. The "Curriculum and Assessment Policy…

Emergency remote and hybrid instructional approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges to science teachers, including how to incorporate authentic, hands-on, and collaborative learning experiences via Zoom™ instruction. Through a school-university partnership, a first-year middle school science teacher, an assistant professor,…

Institutions of higher education are expected by accrediting agencies to perform systematic monitoring of student learning and evaluate the effectiveness of programs of study and institutional operations to identify what needs improvement and then enact planned change to improve the institution; however, many struggle to make this connection. This…

The role of "design" in the exploration of integrated "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" (STEM) education has rapidly expanded in recent years. "Design" has made an important contribution by providing instructional scaffolds in synthesising knowledge from multiple disciplines to solve real-world…

The study's purpose was to describe the processes, experiences, and beliefs of individuals involved in a collaborative action research project to develop a digital citizenship curriculum in Upstate Intermediate School. Teachers there did not systematically teach digital citizenship skills at the fifth- and sixth-grade levels. Facilitating the…

"The Framework for K-12 Science Education" and the Next Generation Science Standards require teachers to integrate engineering design into K-12 science teaching. However, many teachers have no formal preparation in engineering design and how to integrate it into science instruction. Furthermore, few models exist for preparing teachers in…