The use of educational digital games as supplemental tools to course instruction materials has increased over the last several decades and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Though these types of instructional games have been employed in the majority of STEM disciplines, less is known about how diverse populations of students interpret and…

In 2017 Purdue evGrand Prix hired a K-12 Indiana public educator (the author) to write instructional material that could be implemented into participating teams' high school science and engineering classrooms. The goal was to create science-based integrated STEM learning experiences that complement the construction and racing of a 48-volt electric…

Educational dialogue has emphasized that math and science courses be more meaningful and engaging in high school. One way in which this has materialized has been through the introduction of applied STEM courses (i.e., information technology and engineering). In these courses, traditional math and science concepts are to be more educationally…

This paper summarizes our experience of teaching undergraduate robotic courses in the past ten years. The objective is to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge in robotics. Lecture topics covered subjects in both Autonomous Mobile Robots and Robotic Manipulator. In the lab sessions, students work on physical robots to acquire basic…

With new technology tools available for educators and students, effectively using these tools to improve teaching and learning has become a constant theme for research and practice in the field of education. In this study, case-analysis was conducted on 305 published studies (from 140 peer-reviewed regional, national and international journals)…

Engineering design-based STEM integration is one potential model to help students integrate content and practices from all of the STEM disciplines. In this study, we explored the intersection of two aspects of pre-college STEM education: the integration of the STEM disciplines, and the NGSS practice of engaging in argument from evidence within…

Explicit and reflective teaching of communal goals forms connections between STEM content and practices, providing in- and out-of-class opportunities to reflect on how communal goals relate to class activities. This lesson integrates the concepts of "prosociality" (science helps others and gives back to the community) and…

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices are a hallmark of high-impact pedagogy. Such practices are common in discussions regarding the retention of all students in STEM, but especially those with identities such as Black, Indigenous, persons of color, female, and LGBTQIA+. However, the extent to which DEI-framed content improves alignment…

This study outlines the development of the Design Log Instrument (DLI), which is intended for use in identifying moments of abstraction as evidence of STEM content knowledge transfer. The DLI prompts participants to be reflective during technological/engineering design challenges. During the development of this instrument, a three-phase,…

Engineering education can be a wonderful mechanism for students to apply mathematics and science in authentic real world settings; however, less than half of U.S. states have engineering requirements in their mathematics and science standards. The many positives of engineering education can be used to help teachers see the benefits of integrating…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a buzzword in America (Ames, 2013; Woodruff, 2013). With recent pushes from the federal government (Obama, 2013) the educational landscape is changing, with an increased emphasis on STEM (Noddings, 2013; Obama, 2013). However, a clear definition of who teaches each aspect of STEM does not exist…

Students are seldom given an authentic experience within school that allows them the opportunity to solve real-life complex engineering design problems that have meaning to their lives and/ or the greater society. They are often confined to learning environments that are limited by the restrictions set by course content for assessment purposes and…

Engineering, the "E" in STEM, is seldom taught as a distinct curriculum subject in English and Welsh schools to pupils under the age of 14 years. This contrasts with design and technology (D&T), taken in this paper to represent the largest contributor to the "T" in STEM (the remainder being taken to be the computing and…

Innovative K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has been recognized by policy-makers as important to future economic growth. However, in practice, the science and mathematics domains receive more attention than technology and engineering. This may change given the prominence of engineering in the "Next…

Schools that give students access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies are accomplishing several objectives: introducing students to higher-level academic and career studies, expanding project-based learning in the curriculum, enticing students to remain in school until graduation, and preparing students for…