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…

Engineering design has been suggested as a viable instructional approach for Technology Education (TE) to intentionally provide students the opportunity to apply multidisciplinary concepts to solve ill-defined design challenges (Wells & Ernst, 2012; Sanders & Wells, 2010; Wicklein, 2006). Currently, the context for design challenges in TE…

The Family and Consumer Science (FCS) Department at Charles F. Patton Middle School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, planted a garden to provide students with an organic horticulture experience. Although the garden provided the FCS Department space to grow plants, Patton Middle School FCS teachers Betsy Ballard and Kim Hislert believed it…

The goal of formal education is student learning. By emphasizing experimentation in the classroom or lab, students learn about the results of a particular inquiry. But more importantly, they learn to refine their approach to learning by creating new knowledge rather than merely remembering what they have been told. An inquiry approach where…

This article presents an interesting design challenge for students, one that will certainly let them integrate subject matter and get a sense of pride for doing something useful in their own community. The author would be willing to bet that the average town or city has some old red brick manufacturing building(s) that have seen much better days.…

Many studies support the fact that students participating in projectbased learning experiences show significantly higher learning gains than traditional instructional methods (Frank and Barzilai, 2006). Stephen Portz believes many educators recognize this, but because TPBL is fraught with so many challenges, many teachers avoid it or use it only…

Clothing is influenced by many factors, trends, and social happenings. Much of what is worn today had utilitarian roots in the past. In the activitiy presented in this article, students will have the opportunity to redesign clothing for new trends, in this case, the explosion of handheld electronic devices.

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…

A design challenge is all about planning first and understanding the problem before diving in and looking frantically for a solution. Any experienced engineer or designer will tell one to think first and plan the steps before acting. An experienced carpenter friend of the author always said to "take many measurements and cut once." There is great…

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…

Over 100 years ago, the great inventor Thomas Edison warned that gasoline cars would pollute the environment and lead to gasoline shortages. He preferred the use of clean electric vehicles. He also put his money where his mouth was and developed an entirely new alkaline storage battery system for his beloved cars, the nickel-iron storage battery.…

Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, in collaboration with the marine industry and local school systems, is improving STEM preparation using innovative experiences for students and teachers in the nation's major shipbuilding and repair areas through MarineTech and SBRCD (Shipbuilding Repair and Maritime Career Day) projects. The…

People tend to think that inventions must be complex and sophisticated. Yet, some of the most useful inventions have been simple, or elegant, like Velcro, zippers, and Post-it[R] notes. Kitchen utensil drawers are filled with all sorts of great inventions, and in this article, the author discusses a challenge that allows students to develop their…

Being able to dive and breathe underwater has been a challenge for thousands of years. In 1980, Fuji Systems of Tokyo developed a series of prototype gills for divers as a way of demonstrating just how good its membranes are. Even though gill technology has not yet reached the point where recipients can efficiently use implants to dive underwater,…