2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The ****** project, supported by the National Science Foundation’s DRK-12 program, seeks to expand access to rigorous and engaging middle school engineering education by integrating the engineering design process with core mathematics and science instruction. Building on the earlier NSF-supported project, the ******* curriculum includes three year-long engineering courses that introduce students to concepts such as pneumatics, aeronautics, and robotics through contextualized design challenges. Each 18-week course engages students in applying disciplinary knowledge and using advanced manufacturing technologies—including computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing—to design, test, and iterate engineering solutions.

Across the multi-year project, ******* has been implemented in sixteen middle schools across three districts in ********, encompassing a range of student populations, school contexts, and instructional models. Guided by the Innovation Implementation Framework (Century & Cassata, 2014), our longitudinal implementation research triangulated classroom observations, teacher interviews, student artifacts, and survey data to examine both overall implementation and enactment of six critical components of the curriculum: (1) engaging students in the engineering design process, (2) integrating mathematics and science, (3) facilitating collaborative group work, (4) designing contextualized challenges, (5) using advanced manufacturing technologies, and (6) employing curriculum materials and supports with fidelity.

Findings across three years show strong implementation of critical components, particularly math–science integration, collaborative group work, and use of curriculum materials. Teachers consistently report that the contextualized design challenges foster authentic engagement and the application of foundational mathematics and science but also present time management and pacing challenges within semester-long courses. In response, the project team is exploring options to streamline STEM-ID into shorter, modular units that preserve rigor and authenticity while offering greater flexibility for varied school schedules and instructional needs. This poster will present summative implementation findings, highlight patterns across years and contexts, and share lessons learned about supporting sustainable, scalable middle school engineering experiences.