Integrating engineering into core science instruction: translating NGSS principles into practice through iterative curriculum design

摘要

The Next Generation Science Standards now integrate science and engineering through their Core Ideas and Practicesdimensions. Portions of the engineering design process included in these standards emphasize: (1) defining problemsthrough identifying criteria and constraints, (2) developing solutions to those problems, and (3) optimizing those solutionsto best fit the criteria and constraints. The Science Learning Integrating Design, Engineering, and Robotics (SLIDER)project, funded through the NSF DRK-12 program for five years, set out to investigate this integration through the use ofrobotics and design to develop conceptual understanding among 8th grade physical science students. Through three yearsof curriculum development and iteration, the SLIDER curriculum faced several challenges in making this integratedapproach both effective and practical in a diverse array of schools. This paper presents that story and makes suggestionscritical to others designing for the NGSS and developing theory around integrated STEM learning.