An integrated STEM learning model for high school in engineering education

The primary driving force of the US economy depends on the advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Historically, the “E” of STEM has been virtually silent in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. In recent years, K-12 engineering education started to gain attention from educators and policy makers. However, there is a strong need for more standardized engineering curriculum and assessment in K-12 classrooms across the country. It is imperative that more efforts are introduced at the local, district, and federal level that help create strategies, education reforms and opportunities to boost the current meagre national STEM talent pool for a sustained U.S. economy and meet the STEM workforce demands by the year 2020. It is imperative that more efforts are introduced at local, districts, and federal level that helps create strategies, education reforms and opportunities to boost the current meagre national STEM talent pool for a sustained US economy and meet the STEM workforce demands by the year 2020. a team of experts was convened by the NRC at the request of Representative Frank Wolf (VA) to identify highly STEM focused K-12 schools and programs across the country, however this was focused on the science and mathematics of STEM. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center at the City College of the City University of New York funded by NOAA's Educational Partnership Program created a unique project-based integrated STEM learning model that introduces an holistic learning approach to instill college-readiness and STEM motivation among HS students especially students of color and underserved communities.

Introduction

It is evident that one of the main priorities of the current U.S. government is STEM education, including K–12. Several studies have been carried out to assess and help address the need for enhancing K–12 STEM education, as evident from studies by the National Research Council (NRC) over the last two decades and also the creation of the Next Generation Science Standards that are expected to bring major changes to the way STEM curriculum is taught and/or adopted across the country and bring consistency to science instruction and assessment. Historically, it is evident that the “E” of STEM has been virtually silent in most elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Given this phenomenon, the emphasis on standards in education reform in this country, and concerns about how well we prepare our students for life and work in the highly technological 21^st century, it is reasonable that we focus attention on the needs and value of standards for K–12 Engineering Education [1]. Although K–12 Engineering Education has received little attention from most Americans, including educators and policy makers, it has slowly been making its way into U.S. K–12 classrooms. Today, several dozen different engineering programs and curricula are offered in school districts around the country, and thousands of teachers have attended professional development sessions to teach engineering-related coursework. In the past 15 years, several million K–12 students have experienced some formal engineering education [2]. But there is need for more standardized engineering curriculum and assessment across the country. It is imperative that more efforts are introduced at the local (school), district (state), and federal (policy makers) levels to create strategies, education reforms and opportunities to boost the existing STEM talent pool for a sustained U.S. economy and meet the increasing demands for a STEM trained workforce by the year 2020 (Figure 1).