Abstract
Integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) curriculum can potentially increase student motivation because it provides a real-world context , promotes learning, and stimulates "higher-order" thinking. Curriculum developers designed the integrated STEM curricula for middle school students to utilize a problem-based learning approach in a science-focused lesson. Designers developed the curricula to incorporate STEM connections from all areas (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) into each unit through a "real-world" engineering design challenge. The curricula employ engineering challenges that engage and motivate students to apply newly learned principles to an engineering design problem. The curriculum aims to support student autonomy and competence needs by giving students structured opportunities to make choices in an engineering design project. The goal is that integrated STEM will motivate students with varying interests because of its variety and support for their sense of autonomy, choice, and competence. This study will investigate a pedagogical strategy that asks students to anticipate the learning they need to engage in as preparation for implementing their engineering design solution; "What do you need to know in order to solve the problem?" We examined 150 middle-school student engineering notebooks to determine: 1. Do students correctly anticipate the presence of each type of STEM connection in the unit (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)? 2. Do students correctly anticipate the nature of the STEM connections in the unit? In answering these questions, we can discover if students determine that they must learn the very same STEM concept(s) for which the curriculum was designed. If students anticipate the correct connections, we have reason to believe this supports students' feelings of autonomy, competence, and motivation. The answer to our questions provides the impetus for further investigation into how the variety and nature of connections inherent in STEM integration are perceived by students and may lead to greater student motivation.