2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Analysis of Client Letters Embedded in Pre-College STEM Integration Curricula (Fundamental)

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 11

Real-world contexts help students engage with learning activities. The Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards emphasize integrating STEM content and real-world contexts into K-12 learning experiences, highlighting the need for high-quality curriculum. In engineering design-based STEM integration curricula, the potential for client letters to help foster student learning and engagement has been understudied. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of fifty-eight embedded client letters in fifteen engineering design-based K-12 STEM integration curricular units. Through the lens of the STEM Integration Framework, we explored the following research questions: (1) What is the role of client letters in context-rich, engineering design-based K-12 STEM integration curriculum? (2) How do client letters add value to engineering design-based STEM integration curriculum? The analysis revealed unique roles of different client letters and the important contextual elements to convey in each role, deepening the connection between content and real-world scenarios in support of problem scoping, knowledge building, engineering design, and concluding response. Additionally, we found that client letters add value to the curriculum by strengthening motivating and engaging context anchored in authentic experiences, connecting content and the engineering design challenge to real-world scenarios, supporting student-centered instructional strategies, and enhancing other ties to STEM integration. This study provides evidence that client letters embedded in K-12 STEM integration curricula support essential elements of high-quality curriculum, which have the potential to foster student learning through deepening student engagement, applying crosscutting concepts from multiple STEM disciplines, and supporting high quality pedagogies. Teachers should consider the use of client letters to support their use of student-centered pedagogies, while curriculum developers should embed client letters to integrate context and real-world content into STEM learning resources. Additionally, professional development trainers could help teachers effectively implement client letters to maximize their impact, potentially fostering deeper student engagement with both the context and content of STEM integrated learning.

Authors

Christine H. McDonnell Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Christine H. McDonnell is a PhD student in the school of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Christine is interested in exploring the connections between integrated STEM education in K-12 classroom settings and the impact on student learning, career interests, and reducing premature departure from STEM pathways.
Emily M. Haluschak Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Emily M. Haluschak is a PhD student in the school of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Emily is interested in leveraging integrated curriculum development in K-12 settings to positively impact underserved populations in the field of engineering. She utilizes past experiences in STEM program evaluation, education policy, and chemical engineering research.
Dr. Morgan M Hynes Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Dr. Morgan Hynes is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University and Director of the FACE Lab research group at Purdue. In his research, Hynes explores the use of engineering to integrate academic subjects in K-12 cla
Siddika Selcen Guzey Purdue University at West Lafayette (PWL) (COE) [biography]

Dr. Guzey is a professor of science education at Purdue University. Her research and teaching focus on integrated STEM Education.
Dr. Mary K. Pilotte Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Mary Pilotte is an Emerita Professor of Engineering Practice from the School of Engineering Education (ENE) at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. She served ENE as Director of undergraduate degree programs, including First-Year Engineering, and ultimately was Director of and instructor for Multidisciplinary engineering degree programs, IDES and MDE. She worked in a range of engineering and leadership roles in consumer products, aerospace and automotive industries during her 25+ year professional career. Recently, she served as industry liaison and curriculum specialist for Dr. Tamara Moore and the SCALE K-12 microelectronics education initiative.
Kristina Maruyama Tank Iowa State University of Science and Technology [biography]

Kristina M. Tank is an Assistant Professor of Science Education in the School of Education at Iowa State University. She currently teaches undergraduate courses in science education for elementary education majors. As a former elementary teacher, her rese
Dr. Greg J Strimel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4847-4526 Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI) [biography]

Greg J. Strimel, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Technology Leadership and Innovation and coordinator of the Design & Innovation Minor at Purdue University. Dr. Strimel conducts research on design pedagogy, cognition, and assessment as well as the pre
Prof. Tamara J Moore http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7956-4479 Purdue University at West Lafayette (PWL) (COE) [biography]

Tamara J. Moore, Ph.D., is a Professor of Engineering Education and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University, as well as the Executive Co-Director of the INSPIRE Research Institute for Precollege Engineering. Dr. Moore's research is focused on the integration of STEM concepts in K-12 and postsecondary classrooms in order to help students make connections among the STEM disciplines and achieve deep understanding. Her work investigates engineering design-based STEM integration, computational thinking, and integration of high-level content in K-14 spaces. She is creating and testing innovative, interdisciplinary curricular approaches that engage students in developing models of real-world problems and their solutions.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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