Mobile apps for Incorporating Science and Engineering Practices in K-12 STEM Labs

Abstract

The central focus of this work-in-progress is to investigate the following: (1) What do the lesson plans created by teachers reveal about their understanding of science and engineering practices? (2) Will including programming exercises in all lesson plans improve STEM skills in general, and coding skills in particular? And (3) Will integrating science and engineering practices in high school lesson plans improve student retention in STEM and STEM-related areas? To answer these questions, we develop project-based lessons and mobile app-based laboratories that incorporate science and engineering practices. Additionally, with these apps, we: a) enable and motivate students to learn STEM topics by immersing themselves in interactive apps, b) include lesson content and electronic labs delivered using the latest mobile technology and platforms, and c) provide teacher training to better improve content delivery. We will design innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) lesson plans and immersive labs, to create a transformative educational experience for high school students. The lessons and labs will be deployed with the help of mobile applications (apps) that will use multi-sensory and multimodal inputs and outputs to interact with students, and be designed to align with the newly adopted 2017 New York State Science Learning Standards.