ABSTRACT
The impact of the lessons on providing students with a way of thinking about, exploring, and solving problems was beneficial for all students who participated, including girls and members of diverse populations. A group of researchers did a three-year research study on the impact of the EYE middle school STEM modules. Kevin White agreed to act as a mentor for the young men helping them understand the impacts of the sedimentation and runoff in local watersheds, and how a wetland could address the problem. When assessing their knowledge of impacts of erosion, runoff, and deposition, class's understanding actually went deeper than students in regular classes. STEM summative assessments might consist of open-ended questions that focus on higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, or that demonstrate knowledge of how to approach and solve a problem. Students need to be able to write a technical report, and perhaps it can be part of a language arts assessment.
