Welcome to the ITEST Resource Library
The curricula, instruments, and publications included in this library were submitted by ITEST projects and are relevant to the work of the NSF ITEST Program. Use the filters to the right to find relevant materials. A PDF and/or URL to the original resource are included within the resource description whenever possible. In some cases, full text publications are located behind publishers’ paywalls and a fee or membership to the third party site may be required for access.
Please note: permission for the use of instruments must be requested through the publisher or author listed in each entry, and cannot be granted by STELAR.
Search for Resources
VT PEERS lessons
Curricular MaterialsVT PEERS: Ecology and Biome Modeling: Lesson length: 2-4 hours Grade level: 6-8 Students build models of four different biomes: VT PEERS: Bees Breakout Boxes: Lesson Length: 1-2 hours Grade Level: 6-8 Students will explore population interaction and impacts .. VT PEERS: Mountain Road Repair: Lesson length: 1-2 hours Grade level: 6-8Students practice using the scientific method as .. VT PEERS: Engineering a Water Filter: Lesson Length: 1-2 hours Grade Level: 6-8 Students build a water filter with a ... VT PEERS: Mountains Have SO MUCH Potential!: Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students
Family Engineering Kits
Curricular Materials
About the Collaborative Project Our goal is to develop, implement, and refine a program for integrating engineering design practices with an emphasis on emerging technologies and utilization of recyclable materials into home environments of families. There are currently two components of this project – engineering kits that can be completed in any environment, particularly in home environments, and the identification and development of distinct, personal engineering projects. Examples of the Personal Projects “My project was meant to help people in third world countries or people who can’t
AOLME Level 1 Curriculum
Curricular Materials
Expand Latinx Learners’ Authentic Experiences in Computer Programming The curriculum was designed for and renovated through the participation and feedback of middle school students. It integrates basics of Computer Programming and Mathematics concepts and activities needed to represent digital video and color images. It draws on the almost natural motivation of users, middle school students, with digital image and video. The curriculum contains two Levels. Level-1 introduces the concepts of image and video representations. Level-2 takes these basic concepts to a next step by introducing object
Rock ‘n’ Soul Plane (Grades 5-8)
Curricular Materials
Essential Question: How can I increase students’ knowledge of mathematics, music, and STEM careers by using music and/or poetry as the context for learning? Learning Objectives: Students will be able to develop listening, reading, and comprehension skills by hearing and reading stories about the history of music in Memphis and learning about famous musicians. Students will learn mathematics by examining rhythms and beats in various genres of music. Students will learn mathematics through music by writing their own song, rap, or poem and using an app to set it to music.
Assessing the Effects of a Robotics Workshop with Draw-a-Robot Test
PublicationsOur modern technological age is witnessing the pervasive impact of technology on healthcare, transportation, education, commerce, and entertainment. Thus, there is great demand for a well-prepared STEM workforce. To address this need for a tech-savvy workforce, government, corporate, and education sectors are all focused on creating and offering innovative teaching, learning, and training opportunities for students at all levels. In this vein, our team has designed and conducted a summer robotics workshop to increase the robotics knowledge and technical and entrepreneurial skills of
Use of a Design Canvas in a Robotics Workshop and Analysis of its Efficacy (Fundamental)
PublicationsAdvances in science and technology are shaping every aspect of our lives including education, work, healthcare, transportation, commerce, and entertainment. This societal transformation has created an increasing demand for a workforce well-trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and representative of societal diversity. To meet this demand, the K-12 educational environment is witnessing a growing focus on engaging and exposing all students to advance technologies. However, creating technologically rich educational environments requires preparing teachers to
The Formation and Dynamics of Teacher Roles in a Teacher-Student Groupwork during a Robotic Project
PublicationsOver the last decade, with the ever-increasing demand of STEM majors for the job market and the introduction of Next Generation Science Standards, the need for introducing and integrating engineering practices within the K-12 curriculum has risen. Accordingly, professional development (PD) programs have been seeking to prepare teachers for incorporating various engineering practices into their curriculum. Several research studies have examined the effectiveness of PD programs by evaluating teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, and student learning outcomes about engineering practices. However
IDEAS Maker Program
Curricular MaterialsThe IDEAS Maker Program is a curriculum for an informal maker program that engages middle school students with a range of abilities in engineering design activities. It culminates in a project based on their own interests, which they create with a computer-aided design software called TinkerCAD and print on a 3D printer. The program is based on the Make Academy summer camp, held at New York Hall of Science’s Makerspace. With funding from the National Science Foundation, a collaborative team redesigned that museum-based program so that it could be run in schools by teachers. The design team
iDigFossils
Curricular MaterialsEngaging K-12 Students in Integrated STEM via 3D Digitization, Printing and Paleontology The goal of this Strategies project is to expand and extend our understanding of integrated STEM learning by designing and testing a model for K-12 STEM engagement using a highly relevant but unexplored educational pathway to K-12 STEM – paleontology. Paleontology, or the scientific study of fossils, is a broad, interdisciplinary field that spans biology and geology, and harnesses the resources provided by advanced technologies and modern statistics. Our team of K-12 teachers, museum professionals, 3D
Computational Thinking Classroom Resources: CT-Integrated Storyline Units
Curricular MaterialsProgrammable Sensor Integrated Storyline Units 3D prosthetics 3D Printing Storyline Unit Teachers working on sensor immersion All Available SchoolWide Labs Curricula The SchoolWide Lab middle school curriculum units are anchored in phenomena, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards(NGSS) and purposefully integrate Computational Thinking (CT). To date, four units have been developed by a team of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder in collaboration with middle school teachers from Denver Public Schools. The teachers also piloted the units and have taken part in the