Application of the STEM Methodology in the Development of a Closed-Loop Control System

The STEM methodology has been applied in different study approaches, covering different areas such as arts, internet of things, computational thinking, among others. In this paper, two necessary approaches are addressed for the implementation of a closed-loop control system. The first approach (programming) is directly related to the software implementation and the second approach addresses the hardware instrumentation part. Both approaches are developed in a practical teaching case, from a STEM Maker workshop which consisted of 15 sessions with duration 2 hours each one. Each session consisted of 4 stages: Stage 1 (Theoretical concepts), Stage 2 (Practical Example), Stage 3 (Practice) and Stage 4 (challenge). Through these four stages, the development of skills of the attendees in the areas of programming and electronics was encouraged, applying the STEM Maker strategy. From some evaluation instruments, data was collected about the development of skills of the assistants in the implementation of software and hardware instrumentation, acquired in the STEM Maker workshop. The results indicated that approximately 70% of the workshop attendees developed the necessary skills to propose solutions to problems in their current context where the application of programming and/or electronics intervenes. The product obtained from the practice is described as a temperature control which integrates a feedback signal, this system has a wide field of applications which allowed the students of the STEM Maker workshop to achieve a project related to the individual context of each one.