Maximizing classroom time to include meaningful content-based learning with fun engaging activities that simultaneously challenge and encourage students is a hallmark of a successful school day. This article shares one instructional approach that does a model eliciting activity (MEA). A MEA is a real-world, problem-based scenario framed around a…

The study of earthquakes can help students build connections between theoretical analysis and real-world applications. However, units on earthquakes typically struggle to bridge that gap between theory and application. Traditional class activities focus on measuring earthquakes, such as triangulating epicenters by analyzing P and S wave arrival…

The modern world requires engineering specialists with excellent hard skills as well as soft skills that contribute to better communication, creativity, and self-realisation of a person. The authors discovered that modern educational standards are starting to focus on soft skills development, proposing requirements for educational programs that…

Knowing the facts is not enough. If we want students to develop intellectually, creatively problem-solve, and grapple with complexity, the key is in "conceptual understanding." A Concept-Based curriculum recaptures students' innate curiosity about the world and provides the thrilling feeling of engaging one's mind. This updated edition…

Decision matrices are valuable engineering tools. They allow engineers to objectively examine solution options. Decision matrices can be incorporated in K-12 classrooms to support authentic engineering instruction. In this article we provide examples of how decision matrices have been incorporated into 6th and 7th grade classrooms as part of an…

Part One of this article ("Technology and Engineering Teacher," 75(4), December/January, 2016) presented a process that science, math, engineering, and technology teachers could use to collaborate and design integrated STEM courses. A conceptual framework was discussed that could provide a premise that educators interested in delivery of…

The purpose of this article is to empower those interested in teaching students powerful and engaging social studies. Through the lens of Supreme Court simulations, this article provides educators with a viable, classroom-tested lesson plan to bring Problem-Based Learning into their classrooms. The specific aim of the lesson is to provide students…

Background: Inclusive STEM (traditionally known to stand for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math") high schools are emerging across the country as a mechanism for improving STEM education and getting more and diverse students into STEM majors and careers. However, there is no consensus on what these schools are or should be,…

In this first of a two-part series, the authors report that STEM is still mostly science and mathematics, taught separately with little or no attention to technology and engineering. Where connections do get made to technology and engineering, too often they happen through several disconnected projects that lack coherence in content standards and…

Teaching design to middle and high school students can be challenging. One of the first procedures in teaching design is to help students gather information that will be useful in the design phase. An early stage of engineering design as described by Lewis (2005), calls for the designer to establish the state of the art of the problem. During this…

In a regional gathering called the Youth Water Summit, high school students present projects that respond to the driving question behind their science curriculum: "How can you address a significant water resource challenge in your community's watershed?" Students exhibit scientific posters, interactive presentations, films, art projects,…

Teacher education for sustainability is a central part of integrating sustainability into classrooms and schools. However, educating for sustainability is not limited to increased content knowledge; rather it encompasses different forms of knowledge that embrace the normative, dynamic and action-oriented nature of sustainability. Curriculum for a…

The research reported in this paper explores the applicability and efficacy of a variant of problem-based learning, the Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) approach, to teaching and learning within the context of a cross-curricular, middle school data literacy unit called "Thinking with Data" (TWD). A quasi-experimental design was used…

Many teachers see major difficulties in maintaining academic standards in today's larger and more diversified classes. The problem becomes more tractable if learning outcomes are seen as more a function of students' activities than of their fixed characteristics. The teacher's job is then to organise the teaching/learning context so that all…

Learn how to increase rigor so that all students can reach higher levels of learning! With this new edition of a teacher-tested best seller, you get practical ideas for increasing text complexity, providing scaffolding during reading instruction, creating open-ended projects, and much more. The enhanced second edition provides important…