Students build up their STEM career interest based on their experiences. However, it remains unclear how students reflect on their STEM experiences in light of their understanding of STEM careers. This study aimed to explore how students relate their practices in STEM project-based learning (PBL) with their perceptions of scientists' and…

At a time when changes in standards and curriculum compound the pressures of fifth-grade state testing, the authors wanted to find an engaging way to involve students in authentic science and engineering. Rather than put their efforts into a traditional science fair that would inevitably lead to inequitable input by parents and students alike,…

The STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) program is a community partnership initiative that includes both in-school and afterschool STEM education for grades 3-5. It was designed to broaden participation and achievement in STEM education by bringing science and engineering to the lives of low-income urban elementary school…

Hopscotch, basketball, or hide-and-seek? Children have many choices at recess, and while making these choices they must consider and make trade-offs. The way they make these decisions is not that different from the thought processes engineers use when making design trade-offs. Engineers have to make trade-offs because a design that meets all…

It was a hot summer day. Naomi and her cousin walked into the community center. She said, "Miss Jones, our moms need to work. They told us to come here and stay for couple hours." This is a common occurrence in communities with low socioeconomic status during the summertime; parents need to go to work, but children are on summer break.…

In the technology-rich twenty-first century, students are required to actively construct their knowledge and collaboratively engage in problem solving by using such skills as adaptability, communication, self-management, and systematic thinking. In accordance with this necessity, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education…

This article describes the steps incorporated to teach an engineering design process in a fifth-grade science classroom. The engineering design-based activity was an existing scientific inquiry activity using UV light--detecting beads and purposefully creating a series of engineering design-based challenges around the investigation. The…

This paper presents a case study examining 3rd, 4th and 5th graders' design fixation and cooperative learning in an engineering design project. A mixed methods instrument, the Cooperative Learning Observation Protocol (CLOP), was adapted to record frequency and class observation on cooperative learning engagement through detailed field notes.…

This study investigated how children designed computer games as artifacts that reflected their understanding of nutrition. Ten 5th grade students were asked to design computer games with the software "Game Maker" for the purpose of teaching 1st graders about nutrition. The results from the case study show that students were able to…

This educator guide is organized into seven chapters: (1) Overview; (2) The Design Challenge; (3) Connections to National Curriculum Standards; (4) Preparing to Teach; (5) Classroom Sessions; (6) Opportunities for Extension; and (7) Teacher Resources. Chapter 1 provides information about Environmental Control and Life Support Systems used on NASA…