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Teaching Middle School Science Through Project Based Learning

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In the Spring of 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released. These standards focused on switching the topics of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from being taught through basic facts, vocabulary, and memorization to an approach of - learning through ‘doing’. The goal of the NGSS is to refocus pK-12 science to improve STEM career readiness and the ability of all members of society to make informed decisions. This Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), "Teaching Middle School Science Through Project Based Learning" strives to translate WPI’s principles of project-based learning (PBL) to middle school students while judging both the effectiveness of PBL as well as students’ attitudes toward STEM. The goal of this project is to create a lesson through PBL that addresses all of the standards that apply to the group of students being taught here and to evaluate the effectiveness of the created project. In order to do this, an anonymous Pre and Post-Test exam were administered to the students on the topic of weather. There were five separate science classes that the lesson plan was implemented in, which contained different skill levels, and the team found that there was an undeniable improvement in the students’ scores in each of the classes. The basic lesson plan is to teach the students through group work and activities that lead up to a larger final game created by the team for the students to apply their newly developed skills in the topic of weather and to encourage them to get excited about learning, in turn, increasing and - improving their attitude towards STEM. An anonymous questionnaire about the student's feelings towards STEM was also given at the beginning of the week. Overall, this project using - PBL proved to be beneficial for the students and the team hopes that in the future this project and others like it will be implemented in classrooms around the world to help the next generation of engineers and scientists become more prepared to enter the workforce.

  • This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.
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Identifier
  • E-project-031719-165117
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Year
  • 2019
Date created
  • 2019-03-17
Location
  • Worcester
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