The Application of the Engineering Design Process to Curriculum Revision: A Collaborative Approach to STEM Curriculum Refinement in an Urban District

This study describes how student unit assessment data helped support ongoing curriculum revisions in the Baltimore City School District. This project is situated in the STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) project, which is a National Science Foundation funded multi-year Math Science Partnership between the Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore City School District. The project focuses on improving STEM education in grades three through five. The study modeled the process of curriculum revision after the engineering design process. One of the units developed by the partnership was analyzed using this revision process. Areas of unit revision and modification were identified utilizing the analysis of pre- and post-assessment data from the implementation of the unit. Constraints represented by standards, unit objectives, and student-reading levels further informed the revision process. The process resulted in modifications to aspects of the unit and assessment. Findings from this work will help inform collaborative curriculum initiatives between institutions of higher education public school districts.