Integrating Customizable PBL to Increase High School Students' Interest in STEM

摘要

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches are currently being promoted in high schools to engage students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) related subjects. Of particular interest is the development and implementation of PBL modules that are open-ended research projects. The open ended modules can be successful in increasing the students' interest in STEM because they are flexible enough that the students' interest can be accommodated and linked to the project. Most PBL modules are pre constructed by the teacher and are field specific. There is little integration with other disciplines studies and often when that occurs, the secondary disciplines' standards are tortured into fitting the PBL model at hand. Furthermore, the two principal barriers to using these modules are the lack of resources in schools and the lack of customization to meet the students' interest. Most schools are not able to afford the cost of the resources required for these modules, and the one size fits all approach of these modules are not practical with different demographics. Schools would seem to best benefit from a customizable teaching module that would better attract students' interest in STEM related fields. The lack of exposure by high school students to STEM careers runs counter to the growing national need for a technology related workforce. In this paper, we discuss a pilot project using an open-ended, customizable PBL systems engineering module in a minority-serving science and arts charter high school in El Paso, Texas. This paper introduces the methodology and the future plan to apply an open ended systems engineering module to high school students.