This project will use Maker pedagogy to develop workshops to test its potential for improving the effectiveness of learning pathways in STEM disciplines for military veterans. The workshops will provide training and educational awareness in engineering topics and will include computer-aided design (CAD), rapid prototyping, 3D printing, fundamentals of bio-inspired robotics, and additive manufacturing technologies.
The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center at the Monterey Community College in collaboration with Washington State University is engaging in a scale-up study of the remote operated vehicle (ROV) program to new audiences of middle and high school students and teachers. The MATE ROV competition is an engaging platform to prepare middle and high school students for careers in the ocean STEM workforce.
The MATE Center has a variety of curriculum projects:
Generación STEM is a Spanish language TV series designed for middle and high school Latino youth and their families and is part of the STEM Mio Journeys program, developed by Arizona State University.
Green Ninja is a San Jose State educational initiative that develops engaging middle school science curriculum using research-based approaches. Adventures of the Green Ninja – a superhero – are told in a youth-oriented and humorous way, but grounded in science and data. Green Ninja videos are popular on YouTube with a current viewership of over 2 million. Green Ninja curriculum is designed from the ground up using the Next Generation Science Standards, and teacher professional development videos and workshops aim to support teachers with content knowledge and teaching practice.
This paper describes the findings of a pilot study that used robotics and game design to develop middle school students’ computational thinking strategies. One hundred and twenty-four students engaged in LEGO® EV3 robotics and created games using Scalable Game Design software. The results of the study revealed students’ pre–post self-efficacy scores on the construct of computer use declined significantly, while the constructs of videogaming and computer gaming remained unchanged.
The Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World (MSOSW) curriculum uses data gathered by students to develop optimum scenarios for conserving energy and reducing the global production of greenhouse gases.
