From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula
Real-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, rea...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/696 |
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| author | Christine H. McDonnell Imani N. Adams Morgan M. Hynes S. Selcen Guzey Mary K. Pilotte Greg J. Strimel Kristina M. Tank Tamara J. Moore |
| author_facet | Christine H. McDonnell Imani N. Adams Morgan M. Hynes S. Selcen Guzey Mary K. Pilotte Greg J. Strimel Kristina M. Tank Tamara J. Moore |
| author_sort | Christine H. McDonnell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Real-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, real-world problems. This study investigates the role of client letters in synergizing knowledge within immersive engineering design-based STEM integration curricula. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of 107 client letters embedded in 18 freely available K-12 STEM integration curricular units. Using a theoretical framework that aligns immersive education principles with the STEM Integration Framework, we analyzed how these letters support curricular progression, knowledge building, and student engagement. Findings show that client letters structure and scaffold learning through messaging themes that align with the engineering design process (e.g., problem framing, scoping, and design detailing) and support immersive learning through narrative features such as motivation triggers, dramatic structure, and involvement of the self. Based on these findings, we present the Conceptual Framework for Client Letter Development, which categorizes the instructional and narrative functions of client letters. This framework offers practical guidance for educators and curriculum developers seeking to design immersive, integrative STEM learning experiences. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0be0abcfb72d4bb08adf8f9c9f8e8b6f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-0be0abcfb72d4bb08adf8f9c9f8e8b6f2025-08-20T03:27:06ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-06-0115669610.3390/educsci15060696From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration CurriculaChristine H. McDonnell0Imani N. Adams1Morgan M. Hynes2S. Selcen Guzey3Mary K. Pilotte4Greg J. Strimel5Kristina M. Tank6Tamara J. Moore7College of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USASchool of Education, Iowa State University, 0624E Lagomarcino Hall, 901 Stange Road, Ames, IA 50011-2104, USACollege of Engineering, Purdue University, Armstrong Hall 1300, 701 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USAReal-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, real-world problems. This study investigates the role of client letters in synergizing knowledge within immersive engineering design-based STEM integration curricula. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of 107 client letters embedded in 18 freely available K-12 STEM integration curricular units. Using a theoretical framework that aligns immersive education principles with the STEM Integration Framework, we analyzed how these letters support curricular progression, knowledge building, and student engagement. Findings show that client letters structure and scaffold learning through messaging themes that align with the engineering design process (e.g., problem framing, scoping, and design detailing) and support immersive learning through narrative features such as motivation triggers, dramatic structure, and involvement of the self. Based on these findings, we present the Conceptual Framework for Client Letter Development, which categorizes the instructional and narrative functions of client letters. This framework offers practical guidance for educators and curriculum developers seeking to design immersive, integrative STEM learning experiences.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/696STEM integrationengineering design-based learningclient lettersimmersive educationnarrative pedagogyK-12 curriculum |
| spellingShingle | Christine H. McDonnell Imani N. Adams Morgan M. Hynes S. Selcen Guzey Mary K. Pilotte Greg J. Strimel Kristina M. Tank Tamara J. Moore From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula Education Sciences STEM integration engineering design-based learning client letters immersive education narrative pedagogy K-12 curriculum |
| title | From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula |
| title_full | From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula |
| title_fullStr | From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula |
| title_short | From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula |
| title_sort | from context to connection client letters in stem integration curricula |
| topic | STEM integration engineering design-based learning client letters immersive education narrative pedagogy K-12 curriculum |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/696 |
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