Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model
While our world consistently presents complicated, interdisciplinary problems with STEM foundations, most pre-university curricula do not encourage drawing on multidisciplinary knowledge in the sciences and engineering to create solutions. We developed an instructional approach, Iterative Science an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/11/1255 |
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| author | Nancy B. Songer Julia E. Calabrese Holly Cordner Daniel Aina |
| author_facet | Nancy B. Songer Julia E. Calabrese Holly Cordner Daniel Aina |
| author_sort | Nancy B. Songer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While our world consistently presents complicated, interdisciplinary problems with STEM foundations, most pre-university curricula do not encourage drawing on multidisciplinary knowledge in the sciences and engineering to create solutions. We developed an instructional approach, Iterative Science and Engineering (ISE), that cycles through scientific investigation and engineering design and culminates in constructing a solution to a local environmental challenge. Next, we created, revised, and evaluated a six-week ISE curricular program, Invasive Insects, culminating in 6th–9th-grade students building traps to mitigate local invasive insect populations. Over three Design-Based Research (DBR) cycles, we gathered and analyzed identical pre and post-test data from 554 adolescents to address the research question: what three-dimensional (3D) science and engineering knowledge do adolescents demonstrate over three DBR cycles associated with a curricular program following the Iterative Science and Engineering instructional approach? Results document students’ significant statistical improvements, with differential outcomes in different cycles. For example, most students demonstrated significant learning of 3D science and engineering argument construction in all cycles—still, students only significantly improved engineering design when they performed guided reflection on their designs and physically built a second trap. Our results suggest that the development, refinement, and empirical evaluation of an ISE curricular program led to students’ design, building, evaluation, and sharing of their learning of mitigating local invasive insect populations. To address complex, interdisciplinary challenges, we must provide opportunities for fluid and iterative STEM learning through scientific investigation and engineering design cycles. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b6281c5419c7409aba6488274ffd4aa6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-b6281c5419c7409aba6488274ffd4aa62025-08-20T02:08:03ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-11-011411125510.3390/educsci14111255Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional ModelNancy B. Songer0Julia E. Calabrese1Holly Cordner2Daniel Aina3College of Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USACollege of Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USACollege of Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USACollege of Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USAWhile our world consistently presents complicated, interdisciplinary problems with STEM foundations, most pre-university curricula do not encourage drawing on multidisciplinary knowledge in the sciences and engineering to create solutions. We developed an instructional approach, Iterative Science and Engineering (ISE), that cycles through scientific investigation and engineering design and culminates in constructing a solution to a local environmental challenge. Next, we created, revised, and evaluated a six-week ISE curricular program, Invasive Insects, culminating in 6th–9th-grade students building traps to mitigate local invasive insect populations. Over three Design-Based Research (DBR) cycles, we gathered and analyzed identical pre and post-test data from 554 adolescents to address the research question: what three-dimensional (3D) science and engineering knowledge do adolescents demonstrate over three DBR cycles associated with a curricular program following the Iterative Science and Engineering instructional approach? Results document students’ significant statistical improvements, with differential outcomes in different cycles. For example, most students demonstrated significant learning of 3D science and engineering argument construction in all cycles—still, students only significantly improved engineering design when they performed guided reflection on their designs and physically built a second trap. Our results suggest that the development, refinement, and empirical evaluation of an ISE curricular program led to students’ design, building, evaluation, and sharing of their learning of mitigating local invasive insect populations. To address complex, interdisciplinary challenges, we must provide opportunities for fluid and iterative STEM learning through scientific investigation and engineering design cycles.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/11/1255science educationengineering educationinterdisciplinary science |
| spellingShingle | Nancy B. Songer Julia E. Calabrese Holly Cordner Daniel Aina Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model Education Sciences science education engineering education interdisciplinary science |
| title | Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model |
| title_full | Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model |
| title_fullStr | Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model |
| title_short | Usable STEM: Student Outcomes in Science and Engineering Associated with the Iterative Science and Engineering Instructional Model |
| title_sort | usable stem student outcomes in science and engineering associated with the iterative science and engineering instructional model |
| topic | science education engineering education interdisciplinary science |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/11/1255 |
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