ERIC Number: EJ1285529
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2458-8350
EISSN: N/A
Integrating Engineering, Science, Reading, and Robotics across Grades 3-8 in a STEM Education Era
Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, v6 n1 p40-45 2021
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) entered the general lexicon in the United States within the last ten years. Both Presidents Obama and Trump emphasized STEM education as a priority for the United States because the number of college graduates with STEM degrees is perceived as an important factor contributing to the global competitiveness of the United States. STEM refers to four disciplines but the acronym is generally interpreted to mean science or math rather than technology or engineering because only science and mathematics are included oftentimes in the school curriculum. In this paper, we describe our attempts to teach integrated STEM units to grades 3-8 students based on five different articles. The first two articles describe how we engaged grades 3-5 elementary students, in two different engineering design challenges (soda can crusher design and trash grabber design) by using our engineering design model. The third article summarizes how we taught epistemological aspects of engineering using picture books within an engineering design challenge. The fourth article illustrates how students in groups of two or three created biomimetic robots with coding. The fifth article details how students built an animatronic zoo showcasing a particular biome and animals living in it by using computational thinking. [Note: The year (2019) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct year is 2021.]
Descriptors: STEM Education, Science Programs, Robotics, Interdisciplinary Approach, Integrated Activities, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Engineering Education, Design, Content Area Reading, Picture Books, Thinking Skills, Academic Standards, Computer Science Education
Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age. Gazi University, Gazi Faculty of Education, Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Teaching, Bosna Building Room 430, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey 06500. e-mail: joltida.info@gmail.com; Web site: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/joltida
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A