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The IBED approach is designed to empower teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary for transforming their curriculum.
Introduction
As the emphasis on STEM education increases, the "E" (engineering) in the acronym is gaining more attention in K-12 education. K-12 educators are urged to develop new and creative strategies for engaging youth in science and engineering activities that encourage them to be inventors and not just consumers. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (2013) was developed to cultivate a scientifically literate citizenry who engage in critical thinking and problem-solving skills used by scientists and engineers. The role of science education in schools is to foster the development and practicality of these skills through learning experiences that promote students' discovery of meanings, which are applied during problem solving and innovation. NGSS (2013) stresses engineering applications throughout the K-12 standards and empha- sizes the idea that the practices of scientists and engineers are integrated into both inquiry and design. NGSS (2013) summarizes these practices into three spheres: (1) investigation and empirical inquiry, (2) the construction of explanations or designs using reasoning, creative thinking, and models, and (3) the ideas, such as the fit of models and explanations to evidence or the appropriateness of product designs, are analyzed, debated, and evaluated. The skills and knowledge obtained through scientific investigations should enable students to interpret and apply knowledge to benefit their lives and the larger society. According to the Science and Engineering Practices dimension of NGSS (2013), to successfully engage in engineering design, students should be asking questions and defining problems. They should apply scientific knowledge to devise explanations and solutions to problems and make use of models for testing and justifying possible solutions. These authentic applications of the tools and processes of scientists and engineers are communicated in Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007). The benchmarks emphasize a systematic approach for designing solutions to problems during which students define the problem, brainstorm ideas, identify criteria and constraints, explore possibilities, select solutions to prototype and test, and evaluate solutions informed by conceptual, physical, and mathematical models.
Engineering in K-12
K-12 teachers are expected to develop curricula that integrates engineering applications; however, few K-12 teachers were exposed to engineering in their coursework or have...