Curriculum and Instruction at Exemplar Inclusive STEM High Schools

• In Event: 58.082 - Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 58.082-12 - Promoting Science Education Understanding Through Curriculum and Instruction

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of curricular and instructional approaches of exemplar Inclusive STEM High Schools (ISHS). Using a cross-case coding process of 8 intensive school case studies, we examine what STEM content is taught (range of STEM offerings, rigors of offerings, extent to which STEM permeates the school) and how STEM is taught (range of instructional practices, learning opportunities).
While each was unique in design, culture and resources, there were similar approaches to STEM curriculum and instruction, described through 12 themes, including: non-traditional school schedules, academic rigor, mastery learning, non-traditional sources of curriculum, interdisciplinary learning, engineering & design thinking, collaborative group projects, culminating experiences, data-driven decision making, real-world connections, teacher collaboration, and addressing skill deficiencies of incoming 9th graders.

Authors

• Erin E. Peters Burton, George Mason University

• Ann House, SRI International

• Edmund M. Han, The George Washington University

• Sharon J. Lynch, The George Washington University