In most high school curriculum Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classes are taught separately but there is increased attention and funding for STEM integration. This paper examines the history of why high schools teach STEM courses separately, how classrooms and curriculum can be integrated, and the benefits and challenges associated with STEM integration. A tool for evaluating integrated units is included with the analysis of a current integrated high school project used in a Precalculus and Scientific Research and Design course taught at a high school. / text

<div>In the United States, there has been an increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and especially engineering, in pre-college settings. There are several potential benefits of this, including: increasing the quantity and diversity of students who pursue STEM careers, improving all students’ technological literacy, and improving student learning in the STEM disciplines. While current standards support the integration of the four STEM disciplines in pre-college classrooms, research still needs to be done to determine which models of STEM integration are effective and how and why they impact student learning. The context of this study is a model of STEM integration called engineering design-based STEM integration. The purpose of this study was to do an in-depth exploration of students’ use of science conceptions during an engineering design-based STEM integration unit, with additional focus on how engineering design, redesign, teamwork, and communication influence students’ use of science conceptions. For this study, the unit was designed to address middle school-level physical science concepts related to heat transfer, including temperature, thermal energy, and processes of heat transfer (i.e., conduction, convection, and radiation).</div><div><br></div><div>An embedded case study design was used to explore students’ science conceptions while they participated in an engineering design STEM integration unit. The case was one student team from a seventh-grade science class, and the students within the team were the embedded sub-units. Data were collected on each day of the unit’s implementation; these data included video of the student team and entire classroom, audio of the student team, observations and field notes, and student artifacts, including their engineering notebooks. Data were analyzed primarily using methods from qualitative content analysis. Themes emerged for the whole team, with emphasis on specific students when appropriate.</div><div><br></div><div>The results show that there were a few key features of engineering (i.e., engineering design, redesign, teamwork, and communication) that influenced students’ use of heat transfer conceptions. During much of the problem scoping stage, which included the science lessons focused on heat transfer, students mostly used scientific conceptions about conduction, convection, and radiation. However, when they needed to think about those three processes of heat transfer together, as well as apply them to the context of the engineering design challenge, the students began to use a larger mix of scientific conceptions and alternative conceptions. Several alternative conceptions emerged when they combined ideas and vocabulary from conduction and radiation to create one set of rules about thermal properties of materials (i.e., did not distinguish between conduction and radiation). Even when they used scientific conceptions, the students sometimes applied the conceptions unscientifically when designing, which led them to create a prototype that performed poorly. However, the student team then learned from the failures of their first design and redesigned, during which they appropriately used mostly scientific conceptions. In other words, the opportunity to learn from failure and redesign was critical to this team’s use of correct conceptions about heat transfer. Two other features of engineering that emerged were teamwork and communication through notebooks. Students on the team learned from each other, but they learned both scientific and alternative conceptions from each other and from their peers on other teams. Engineering notebooks proved to be somewhat helpful to students, since they referred to them a few times when designing, but more importantly they were helpful in revealing students’ conceptions, especially for one student on the team who rarely spoke.</div><div><br></div><div>The findings of this study contribute to future development and implementation of other engineering design-based STEM integration curricula because they show how various features of engineering influenced this student team’s use of science conceptions. In particular, the results demonstrate the importance of giving students the opportunity to learn from failure and redesign, since this process can help students use more scientific conceptions and potentially repair their alternative conceptions. Additionally, it is important for curriculum developers and teachers to think carefully about the transition from problem scoping to solution generation and how to include effective scaffolds for students to help them combine their conceptions from science lessons and apply them correctly when designing. These results also have implications related to heat transfer conceptions, as the student team in this study demonstrated some scientific and alternative conceptions that were already in the literature. Additionally, they used alternative conceptions when they confused concepts from conduction and radiation, which are not in literature about pre-college heat transfer conceptions. These findings suggest that more research should be done to explore the interaction of engineering design and students’ science conceptions, especially heat transfer conceptions.</div>

Researchers have shown rural elementary and middle-grade science teachers' inability to integrate STEM career-related lessons into their curricula despite engagement in professional development linked to the teachers' intent-driven beliefs. Researchers, however, have not investigated the influence of intentions on teachers' abilities to integrate STEM career-related lessons into science instruction. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand how intentions impacted rural elementary and middle-grade teachers' ability to integrate STEM career-related lessons during science instruction. Guided by Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior, this study was designed to examine teachers' intentions to integrate STEM career-related lessons during science instruction and the underlying causes of such intentions. In this transcendental phenomenological study, reflective journal entries and interview data were collected through purposeful sampling of 10 rural elementary and middle-grade science teachers. Data were analyzed using a modification of the Van Kaam method of analysis. Findings showed that teachers intended to regularly integrate STEM career-related lessons, but needed more support from their administrators, colleagues, and community partners in fulfilling their intents to integrate STEM career-related lessons. Additional studies are needed for an increased understanding of how teachers in rural areas intend to integrate STEM career-related lessons amid challenges rural teachers face. This study may be of benefit to administrators and teachers who want to unite efforts in constructing a positive climate of integrating STEM career-related lessons during science instruction.

Fewer students in the United States are choosing to study and enter careers in the STEM disciplines-Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This problem is being addressed through current educational reforms focusing on Integrated STEM curriculum and instructional design. This mixed-method quasi-experimental study researched the effects of science-engineering integration on student learning, student attitudes, and student interests in science within an elementary setting through the creation and implementation of an integrated science and engineering unit of instruction focused on the water cycle. Comparisons of student performance on end-of-unit science assessments revealed no significant differences in student learning between students who experienced an integrated unit of instruction and those who received an un-integrated science unit. However, increased student learning and interest in science was evidenced in responses to a student survey. Inasmuch as there is little in the way of frameworks to guide the legitimate integration of science and engineering instruction, this study offers a guide for teachers along with evidence of its efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of professional development (PD) on the infusion of engineering design into high school curricula. Four inservice teachers with backgrounds in physics, chemistry, industrial education, math, and electrical engineering participated in the 2006 National Center of Engineering and Technology Education (NCETE)-sponsored PD workshops at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) and provided three sources of data that were used to answer the research question, "What are the effects of PD on infusing engineering design into high school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curricula"? Three major themes emerged from the data. They were (a) incorporation of PD content, (b) challenges with incorporating PD content, and (c) benefits of incorporating PD content. It was shown that the effect that the NCETE PD had on the infusion of engineering design into high school curricula varied among each of the four teachers due to their subject area, educational backgrounds, and experiential knowledge. Implications of these findings may be used to inform the design and delivery of future STEM PD efforts.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is intended to provide students with a cross-subject, contextual learning experience. In order to more fully prepare our nation's students for entering the globally competitive workforce, STEM integration allows students to make connections between the abstract concepts learned in core subject classrooms and real-world situations. FFA and 4-H programs, by nature, are intended to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities where abstract core subject principles can be applied and more fully understood. Junior livestock projects through FFA and 4-H can provide rich connections for students between what they learn in school and how it is applied in the real world through their livestock project. Using a modified Delphi technique, this study identified STEM concepts associated with junior livestock projects. The study also examined whether STEM concepts should be integrated into the supervision of junior livestock projects and identified barriers which would prevent the incorporation of STEM concepts into local 4-H and FFA programming and instruction. The experts identified several (13 of 19) STEM concepts associated with junior livestock projects, four reasons local 4-H and FFA leaders/advisors should incorporate STEM concepts into their programming and instruction, and no barriers which would prevent local 4-H and FFA leaders/advisors from incorporating STEM concepts into their programming and instruction. This paper explores rationale regarding why STEM integration is important and makes recommendations for the integration of STEM concepts into the supervision of junior livestock projects.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of partner teachers and graduate fellows in 1 school regarding the barriers and successes made during their participation in a National Science Foundation Grant. This study included 9 partner teachers and 7 graduate fellows who participated in the Science First! NSF GK-12 Grant. There were 16 participants in this study. This study was conducted at North Side Elementary and East Tennessee State University. Partner teachers and graduate fellows were interviewed to gain perceptions of the barriers and successes of their participation in the implementation of the Science First! grant at North Side and East Tennessee State University from 2008-2013. A list of possible participants in the study was provided from the grant leadership team. The 16 participants in the study were chosen through purposeful sampling. During data analysis, 4 themes arose as successes and 4 themes arose as barriers. The success themes were (a) relationships, (b) mutual appreciation, (c) increased academic depth, and (d) professional growth. The barriers were (a) communication, (b) time, (c) expectations, and (d) preparation. Based on the research, the following conclusions were presented. The coordination of a major NSF-GK12 grant can provide STEM support and academic rigor for a high poverty school with leadership. Positive relationships between the graduate fellows and partner teachers as well as the 2 participating institutions are critical in fostering successful grant implementation. Professional growth through the grant partnerships was obtained. The participants gained a mutual appreciation for the roles and responsibilities of each other. There are ups and downs in implementing a large grant at 1 elementary school with a university, but the rewards of the potential to influence teacher practices in STEM and student learning are great. Recommendations from the study findings may assist future grant award winners or partnerships of any kind in building productive relationships between schools and other institutions.

<p>This thesis examines the Elementary Educate Gain Grow (E.G.G.) program and its impact on student agricultural literacy and interest in relation to the program’s pilot classroom implementation. The overall shortage of graduates pursuing careers in the poultry industry was the motivation behind the program development. The gap between industry demand and the potential entering poultry workforce may be linked to low awareness and interest relating to poultry science. This is particularly true in the egg industry. As consumer and legislature demands continue to affect egg production practices and demand for eggs continues to grow, it is especially crucial for consumers to become more aware of industry practices. One way to increase awareness may be to include educational resources within the K-12 system that are designed to increase awareness and interest in the industry. By integrating poultry science into required academic standards, students are given a real-world context to apply STEM skills. This has the potential to improve the learning experience and stimulate student interest and awareness. Such resources have the potential to promote future student engagement in poultry science opportunities. Therefore, the Elementary E.G.G. program was developed as an integrated STEM and poultry science curriculum with five online modules, a supplemental interactive notebook, an embedded simulation game, and a final team project as a resource for upper elementary teachers and students. All content and materials were developed between fall 2018 and summer 2019 and were made available to 480 Indiana 4^th and 5^th graders (13 teachers, 19 classrooms) across 8 different school districts in the fall of 2019. The program was designed for a ten consecutive day STEM unit starting with online modules (days 1 to 5) and followed by a team project (days 6 to 10). There were three overall research questions to assess the impact of the Elementary E.G.G. program: 1) what was student agricultural literacy before, during, and after program implementation; 2) did the program have an effect on student situational interest; and 3) what was the teacher perceived value and effectiveness of the program as an education resource. </p> <p>Chapter One provides a literature review outlining past research that provided background for the development of the Elementary E.G.G. program. </p> <p> Chapter Two describes the experimental methods and results of the piloted Elementary E.G.G. program and how it impacted student agricultural literacy through evaluating three content assessments and student notebook responses. Additionally, we discuss teacher feedback, collected at the completion of the program. Quantitative data was collected to assess student poultry knowledge prior (pre-program), during (post-modules), and after implementation (post-program) using 14 multiple choices questions focused on module content. The questions were administered online using Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT). Only student data that was completed correctly across all assessments and notebook responses from student’s in corresponding classrooms to the other assessments were used for analysis. Student notebook responses from 10 corresponding classrooms (52.63% response rate), were deemed usable for analysis since these classrooms had students who correctly completed all assessments and qualitative data from notebook responses could only be matched to classrooms not individual students. Student content scores (n=111; 23.13% response rate) were analyzed using an ANOVA post hoc Tukey’s test with SPSS Version 26. Content knowledge scores increased from 7.99 (SD=1.85) during the pre-program assessment to 9.76 (SD=2.44) post-modules (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). Student notebook responses provided qualitative data of their agricultural literacy development throughout the modules. Student responses from the useable 10 classrooms (n=172; 35.83% response rate) were inductively coded to reveal patterns that supported increased student agricultural literacy related to each module’s predetermined learning objectives. The increase in content scores along with student identification of learning objectives support the program’s ability to increase student agricultural literacy. Teacher feedback (n=9; 69.2% response rate) indicated that teachers agreed that each of the components (modules, notebook and team project) supported the program objectives and the majority reported that the program encouraged student participation and interest. We concluded that the E.G.G. program increased student content knowledge of the poultry industry and was a viewed as an implementable curriculum by teachers. </p> <p> Chapter Three shares the program’s procedures and results in relation to student situational interest during the program’s implementation. A pre-program questionnaire assessed student individual interest scores while post-module and post-program assessments evaluated student situational interest (n=111; 23.1% response rate). Increased individual interest scores (3.57± 0.10) may indicate a higher likelihood of having situational interest stimulated (scale: 1 to 5 with 1 having no interest and 5 having the highest level of individual interest). Results support that the online modules and the team project stimulated student situational interest because total situational interest scores, in addition to each individual subscale (i.e. attention, challenge, exploration, enjoyment, and novelty), were above a two on a four point Likert scale (scale: 1 to 4 with 1 having no situational interest during the activity and 4 having situational interest fully induced). <a>Previous validation of this assessment interprets subscale or total scores above a two to represent that students are experiencing situational interest during the activity in question. </a>Attention, challenge, novelty, and overall situational interest scores were significantly higher during the team project compared to the online modules (<i>p </i>< 0.01) while exploration and enjoyment subscales were similar. Student interest themes, coded from their notebook responses, showed interest in the modules’ learning objective topics with students demonstrating repeated interest in egg and hen anatomy and animal welfare. Overall, student situational interest was stimulated by the Elementary E.G.G. program, with overall interest highest during the team project compared with the online modules. Furthermore, students self-reported having interest in topics aligned with the modules’ learning objectives and inductive coding of responses found reappearing themes of interest relating to hen anatomy and animal welfare. </p> In conclusion, the results from the pilot Elementary E.G.G. program support that an integrated STEM and poultry science elementary curriculum has the potential to increase student agricultural literacy and can successfully impact student situational interest by engaging in purposefully developed activities. Further research is needed to adopt a framework across other poultry science sectors at a national level and improve accessibility of materials to a wider target audience. Additionally, improvements in program compliance may aid in increasing response rates of such research and are needed to increase transferability of findings.

<p>STEM education has been a topic of reform in education for many years and it has recently focused primarily on the education methodology called STEM integration. Universities and state departments of education have defined teacher education programs and STEM initiatives that explore the necessary ingredients for a curriculum using this methodology, but they do not provide explicit instructions for the design of the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the question "What are the characteristics of high school learning environments that support integrated STEM instruction?" </p> <p>This qualitative study used a postpositive lens and multiple-case study framework to distill the experiences and evidence gathered from four STEM certified high schools in the state of Indiana. This distillation resulted in three universal themes common to each school which were: the allocation of universally accessible free space for STEM integration, the importance for mobility of resources and students, and the need for supportive technological resources. </p> <p>This study is applicable to both those who are educators working in STEM education and those researchers looking to understand the STEM integration paradigm or learning environment design. Educators can use this study to plan their own learning environments and researchers can use this study as a pilot to many other outlets in the topic of STEM integration. </p>