(539d) Increasing STEM Understanding and Engagement through Engineering Learning Activities

Many engineering students enter their first year of college with minimal hands on experience and little understanding of what engineering majors actually involve. Most K12 educators who do attempt to integrate engineering in their classrooms are not engineers and thus, rely on published lesson plans. There are several databases that teachers can use to find engineering lessons, however, it is important for K12 educators to select from among these activities those that are aligned with the disciplinary concepts they teach. There is a need for guidance in selecting, designing, and adapting engineering activities aligned with curriculum objectives. The goal of this study was to help pre-collegiate students understand what engineering is and how engineering concepts are applied to solve real world problems. To do this, we have related engineering applications to science and math concepts that students learn in their classrooms. With the guidance of middle school teachers to identify important underlying disciplinary concepts, we have created and modified several lesson plans that include hands on engineering-related activities with the intent of improving middle school students’ understanding of the underlying disciplinary concepts. Pilot studies of some activities have been perform, and these findings will be used to guide the development of curriculum for an engineering summer camp planned as a week-long outreach program at the University of New Haven for the summer of 2020.