Using DIME maps and STEM project-based learning to teach physics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Rugh ◽  
Donald J. Beyette ◽  
Mary Margaret Capraro ◽  
Robert M. Capraro
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Engineering Design Process

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine a week-long science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) activity that integrates a new educational technology and the engineering design process to teach middle and high school students the concepts involved in rotational physics. The technology and teaching method described in this paper can be applied to a wide variety of STEM content areas. Design/methodology/approach As an educational technology, the dynamic and interactive mathematical expressions (DIME) map system automatically generates an interactive, connected concept map of mathematically based concepts extracted from a portable document format textbook chapter. Over five days, students used DIME maps to engage in meaningful self-guided learning within the engineering design process and STEM PBL. Findings Using DIME maps within a STEM PBL activity, students explored the physics behind spinning objects, proposed multiple creative designs and built a variety of spinners to meet specified criteria and constraints. Practical implications STEM teachers can use DIME maps and STEM PBL to support their students in making connections between what they learn in the classroom and real-world scenarios. Social implications For any classroom with computers, tablets or phones and an internet connection, DIME maps are an accessible educational technology that provides an alternative representation of knowledge for learners who are underserved by traditional methods of instruction. Originality/value For STEM teachers and education researchers, the activity described in this paper uses advances in technology (DIME maps and slow-motion video capture on cell phones) and pedagogy (STEM PBL and the engineering design process) to enable students to engage in meaningful learning.

scholarly journals Slime Mold Quarantine: An Engineering-Design-Integrated Biology Unit

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 570-576
Author(s):  
Taylor Holder ◽  
Laura Pottmeyer ◽  
Frackson Mumba
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Slime Mold ◽  
School Students ◽  
Slime Molds ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Design Skills

Students often find it challenging to learn about complex and abstract biological processes. Using the engineering design process, which involves designing, building, and testing prototypes, can help students visualize the processes and anchor ideas from lab activities. We describe an engineering-design-integrated biology unit designed for high school students in which they learn about the properties of slime molds, the difference between eukaryotes and prokaryotes, and the iterative nature of the engineering design process. Using the engineering design process, students were successful in quarantining the slime mold from the non-inoculated oats. A t-test revealed statistically significant differences in students' understanding of slime mold characteristics, the difference between eukaryotes and prokaryotes, and the engineering design process before and after the unit. Overall, students demonstrated sound understanding of the biology core ideas and engineering design skills inherent in this unit.

An Integrated Engineering Agriculture STEM Program

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Gharib ◽  
Tala Katbeh ◽  
G. Benjamin Cieslinski ◽  
Brady Creel
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Hands On

Abstract Pre-college project-based learning programs are essential means to increase the students’ interest toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines and careers. Engineering-based projects have shown significant impact on the students’ interests. Therefore, developing countries are investing strategically in their emphasis to attract students to careers in STEM fields, specifically engineering and medicine. That resulted in a steady expansion of their educational pipeline in STEM; and while that emphasis remains, there is a new and urgent need for expertise in agriculture, environmental science, life sciences and sustainability to support the agriculture industry, which is working to secure independent sources of food for their population. New interventions must be devised to stimulate broader interest in STEM fields while also increasing students’ academic readiness for advanced studies in those areas. To target the requirement of increasing people’s competencies in STEM fields, various programs have been created and designed to inspire and broaden students’ inquisitiveness toward STEM. This paper presents an integrated science-engineering program, called Qatar Invents, designed to support and enhance students’ learning of science concepts while also increasing students’ understanding of global challenges in food and water security. This goes with close connection to the desire to increase in the domestic production of agricultural resources in developing countries in recent years. Qatar Invents would engage students into learning and applying fundamental engineering skills onto relatable real-world issues: namely, in the design of hydroponics systems. Qatar Invents challenges students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills in solving modern problems through the use of the engineering design process. With hands-on challenges, modeling, and communication training, students are motivated to tackle problems related to food security where they create hydroponics projects. Qatar Invents’ learning objectives included: teamwork, using proper toolbox skills, understanding what is engineering, the process of brainstorming, creating successful innovative designs, building prototypes, and developing presentation skills. Throughout this program, the participants were equipped with hands-on knowledge and critical thinking skills that helped them achieve their objectives. Utilizing the engineering design process, the students worked in small teams to brainstorm ideas and create inventions. The topics covered during the program included the importance of an engineering notebook and documentation, principals of engineering graphics, basics of agricultural science, foundations of hydroponics, the brainstorming practice, generating a decision matrix, proof of concept, and pitching ideas. At the end of the program, the students came up with novel solutions to serious problems wherein unique hydroponics projects were produced and presented to a panel of experts. This program attempts to build bridges between developing countries’ STEM education pipeline and the new demand of talent in the agriculture sector. All pertinent details including the preparation, instructional materials, prototyping materials, and case studies are presented in this paper.

scholarly journals FOSTERING STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC IMAGINATION IN STEM THROUGH AN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-393
Author(s):  
Nyet Moi Siew
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Dynamic Adjustment ◽  
School Students ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Initiation Stage ◽  
Scientific Imagination

This research was conducted to evaluate the scientific imagination of Grade 10 students from one Malaysian rural secondary school that adopted the integration of the imagination process in an Engineering Design Process (EDPI) through an outreach program in STEM. Three stages of scientific imagination process were evaluated: initiation, dynamic adjustment, and virtual implementation. A total of 50 students aged 16 participated in a 10-hour program, which engaged them in designing and building two different prototypes. Data on students’ scientific imagination were captured through a pre-test and post-test, and teachers’ field notes based on focus group interviews and observations. The results of paired sample t-tests showed significant differences in all three stages of scientific imagination process, except in the brainstorming of the initiation stage. The findings reveal that students required both personal experience and social or environment interactions in order to progress from the initiation stage to the virtual implementation stage. The findings also suggested that the EDPI approach is able to create a supportive environment for fostering scientific imagination among rural secondary school students. Keywords: engineering design process, scientific imagination, STEM.

scholarly journals INTEGRATING STEM IN AN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS: THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AN OUTREACH CHALLENGE PROGRAM

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-493
Author(s):  
Nyet Moi Siew ◽  
Henry Goh ◽  
Fauziah Sulaiman
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Higher Order Thinking ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
School Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Engineering Design Process

This research was conducted to evaluate the learning experience of Grade Ten students from two Malaysian rural secondary schools that adopted the integration of STEM in an Engineering Design Process (STEM-EDP) approach vis-á-vis an outreach challenge program. A total of 89 students undertook a ten hour program which engaged them in designing and building three different prototypes as well as answering higher order thinking questions. Data on students’ learning experience were captured through participants’ responses to a six-point Likert scale questionnaire, teachers’ field notes, and open-ended questions. The questionnaire result reveals statistically significant gains in knowledge or skills about, attitudes toward, and practices on STEM. The STEM-EDP outreach challenge program brought awareness to rural school students of their potential as problem solvers, thinkers, creators, and collaborators. Students were able to simultaneously broaden their boundaries in knowledge and competency even though they experienced difficulties in tackling challenges associated with STEM activities. Findings suggested that the STEM-EDP approach can be applied as a means for fostering creativity, problem solving skills, and thinking skills among rural secondary school students. Keywords: engineering design process, higher order thinking, outreach challenge program, rural schools, STEM.

scholarly journals EXPLORING STUDENTS’ STEM IMAGINATION PROCESS THROUGH AN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Nyet Moi Siew
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Dynamic Adjustment ◽  
School Students ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Group Interviews

This research was conducted to explore the STEM imagination of Grade 10 students from one Malaysian rural secondary school that adopted the integration of the imagination process in an Engineering Design Process (EDP) through an outreach program in STEM. Four stages of the STEM imagination process were examined: initiation, dynamic adjustment, virtual implementation and implementation. A total of 50 students aged 16 participated in a 10-hour program which engaged them in designing and building two different prototypes. Data on students’ STEM imagination were captured through teachers’ field notes based on focus group interviews and observations. The findings reveal that students needed to draw from their lived experiences to brainstorm problems and solutions around a given scenario, and to arrive at a workable solution in order to move from the initiation to the implementation stage. The findings also suggested that the EDP approach is able to create a supportive environment for nurturing STEM imagination among rural secondary school students.

scholarly journals Effects of infusing the engineering design process into STEM project-based learning to develop preservice technology teachers’ engineering design thinking

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuen-Yi Lin ◽  
Ying-Tien Wu ◽  
Yi-Ting Hsu ◽  
P. John Williams
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Teaching Experiment ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Cognitive Structures ◽  
Technology Teachers ◽  
Engineering Design Process

Abstract Background This study focuses on probing preservice technology teachers’ cognitive structures and how they construct engineering design in technology-learning activities and explores the effects of infusing an engineering design process into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning to develop preservice technology teachers’ cognitive structures for engineering design thinking. Results The study employed a quasi-experimental design, and twenty-eight preservice technology teachers participated in the teaching experiment. The flow-map method and metalistening technique were utilized to enable preservice technology teachers to create flow maps of engineering design, and a chi-square test was employed to analyze the data. The results suggest that (1) applying the engineering design process to STEM project-based learning is beneficial for developing preservice technology teachers’ schema of design thinking, especially with respect to clarifying the problem, generating ideas, modeling, and feasibility analysis, and (2) it is important to encourage teachers to further explore the systematic concepts of engineering design thinking and expand their abilities by merging the engineering design process into STEM project-based learning. Conclusions The findings of this study provide initial evidence on the effects of infusing the engineering design process into STEM project-based learning to develop preservice technology teachers’ engineering design thinking. However, further work should focus on exploring how to overcome the weaknesses of preservice technology teachers’ engineering design thinking by adding a few elements of engineering design thinking pedagogy, e.g., designing learning activities that are relevant to real life.

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