Shifting Middle School Students' Environmental Concern Through a Design Thinking–Based STEM Curriculum

• In Event: 66.080 - Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 66.080-9 - Researching Domains in STEM and Diversity in Environmental Education

Abstract

This paper describes a STEM-based summer school curriculum for middle school students, which focused on the topic of energy and used the lens of design thinking, a method for design innovation that begins with empathy-based research. Findings from a content analysis of pretest and posttest assessments from the summer school program are presented, focusing on an item that elicited students’ ideas about methods of energy production and how they relate to the environment. Results indicate shifts in students’ knowledge and attitudes toward forms of energy production, suggesting that the combination of STEM and design thinking presents a promising synergy for environmental educators. Methodological implications of content analysis for interpreting values, beliefs, and attitudes are discussed.

Author

• Tanner Vea, Stanford University