CorePal: A standards-based content hub for STEM fields

Abstract

In an effort to generate and retain student interest in STEM fields, this work focused on providing middle school teachers with resources to engage students using hands-on activities and demonstrations directly related to the state science standards. The project involved generating a library of content for 8th grade physical science standards. The demonstrations and activities were specifically selected to promote interest and engage students, while being easy-to-implement for the teachers. The resources were packaged as a mobile app, called CorePal, to make the content highly accessible. CorePal was designed to allow teachers to track their progress and more importantly serve as a powerful guide to integrate science and engineering activities within their curriculum. Since the project was inspired by feedback from middle school teacher workshops for incorporating hands-on activities in classrooms, local science teachers participated in focus group discussions, workshops and surveys to inform CorePal's development. This paper introduces this standards-based hub for middle-school teachers to engage students within the STEM fields. The paper details CorePal's design philosophy and development. Initial feedback from teachers is included to provide context for these efforts. Even though the feedback has been positive, success of CorePal rests on its ability to build a collaborative community around it. Upon its launch, CorePal will exist as the only standards-based content tool on a mobile platform.