Resources included in these libraries were submitted by ITEST projects or STELAR and are relevant to the work of the NSF ITEST Program. PDFs and/or URLs to the original resource are included in 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. Permission for use must be requested through the publisher or author listed in each entry.
Assessing the Effects of a Robotics Workshop with Draw-a-Robot Test
PublicationOur 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)
PublicationAdvances 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
PublicationOver 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 PaleontologyThe 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 Units3D prosthetics 3D Printing Storyline Unit Teachers working on sensor immersionAll Available SchoolWide Labs CurriculaThe 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 revision
Integrating Computer Science for All with Music - iCS4ALL Music
Curricular MaterialsIntegrating Computer Science for All with Music in Three Rural Eastern North Carolina School DistrictsCurricular Activity System Instructional Elements Musical Literacy Essential Standard 8.ML.2 Interpret the sound and symbol systems of music Clarifying Objective 8.ML.2.1 Interpret standard musical notation for whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and dotted note and rest durations in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 3/8, and alla breve meter signatures. Essential Standard 8.ML.3 Create music using a variety of sound and notational sources Clarifying Objective 8.ML.3.2 Construct short pieces within
SageModeler
Curricular MaterialsSimple Systems ModelingFree, web-based, and open-source software to engage students in systems thinking through designing, building, and revising models. An easy to use drag-and-drop tool for basic diagramming of the structure of a system or creation of static equilibrium or time-based dynamic models.
Project AIM: Helping Teachers Promote Mathematics Discourse for All Learners
Curricular MaterialsProject AIM, a partnership between the NC State College of Education and Horizon Research, Inc., is a year-long professional development program that helps elementary school teachers learn to promote mathematics discourse for all learners using techniques adapted from literacy instruction to mathematics.Through three main modes of engagement delivered through a hybrid model, teachers who participate in Project AIM:Advance their own mathematical understandings of the content and pedagogy needed to improve the quality of mathematics discourse in their classrooms Learn how to adapt literacy
Exploring Waves Through Sound
Curricular MaterialsEach of the lessons linked below can be explored independently or within a larger unit of sound/waves. The order below is a recommended learning sequence in exploring the basics of soundwaves. This lesson sequence uses the anchoring phenomenon of a deaf person claiming he can feel music. Throughout each lesson, students will have to use evidence from their activities to explain this phenomenon.