This article describes a cooperative project between eighth graders and first graders called "Going Green in the Neighborhood." The project entailed the first grade students sketching home designs on paper to make a model community, and the eighth grade students taking those drawings and making them into 3D computer models and then…

This article describes an efficient peer evaluation process that can be implemented at the middle and high school levels, and that holds students accountable for their individual contributions in a team-based project. Teachers faced with this challenge will welcome the web-based peer-evaluation interface that was capable of soliciting student…

This is the second in a series of articles discussing the "Doing-Based Learning" study. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which U.S. public school elementary and secondary education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students are doing activities in their classrooms. The first article (Moye,…

This article describes a reverse-engineering project where female students take a part a hair dryer--giving them an opportunity to see the many different kinds of engineering disciplines involved in making a hairdryer and that they work together. Mechanical Engineer, Lyn Gome, describes her experience leading a group of middle school girls through…

The article provides information on the changing rules in the authentic designs in gaming. It states that board games have been used to teach before a traditional classroom setting was ever put in place. It mentions that technology, engineering, and design education teachers would do well to develop their assignments to lead students into…

As science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education demands greater integration across all subject areas, technology teachers can showcase many of the cross-curricular projects already occurring inside their classrooms that intrigue students and build their STEM skills. Robotics, just one of those projects, has become an excellent…

In a middle school classroom, the science of fluidics was introduced using the rig. Afterwards the students were able to make informed choices about using air or water as the medium inside their syringes. The three kits available through the NFPA were explored, reverse-engineered, discussed, and analyzed as a lead-in to the in-house culminating…

A low-cost and portable colorimeter kit has been designed and developed as an educational tool at Penn State University by Dr. Daniel Sykes for K-12 schools' integrated STEM learning. This scientific instrument allows students to learn how scientists utilize light as a means to study the chemical and physical properties of materials with an…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators are facing the challenge of attracting more students. The disparity between the need for engineers and the enrollment of engineering students is growing (Genalo, Bruning, & Adams, 2000), and career aspirations of high school students are inconsistent with the employment…

In the fall of 2011, Park Forest Middle School (PFMS) students approached the STEM faculty with numerous questions regarding the popular television show Myth Busters, which detailed Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, and inventor, Archimedes. Two episodes featured attempts to test historical accounts that Archimedes developed a death ray…

Multiple initiatives have been launched to try to widen the pipeline for women to enter engineering careers, including reviews of gender differences in enrollment in technology and pre-engineering courses from middle school through doctoral degrees. National agencies have also studied some of the social and cultural forces at play with regard to…

Robotic competitions continue to gain popularity in the educational community as a way to engage students in hands-on learning that can raise a student's interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 1992, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) held its first competition and presented a style of…

STEM-based understandings and experiences that prepare learners beyond the classroom are of imminent need, as today's STEM education students are tomorrow's leaders in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and education (Prabhu, 2009). Integrative STEM education signifies the intentional integration of science and mathematics with the…

One of the key features that draws many people to play video games is the fact that they are interactive. Video games allow the user to be actively engaged and in control of the action (Prensky, 2006). Seventh grade students at Canonsburg Middle School are actively engaging in the creation of video games. The students are engaged at a much deeper…

Humans by their very nature are users of tools, materials, and processes as a part of their survival and existence. As humans have progressed over time, their civilizations and societies have changed beyond imagination and have moved from hunters and gatherers of food and materials for survival to sophisticated societies with complex social and…