Engineering has emerged as a promising context for STEM integration in K-12 schools. In the previous decade, the field has seen an increase in curricular resources and pedagogical approaches that invite students to utilize mathematics and science as they engage in engineering practices. This Innovation to Practice paper highlights one effort to meaningfully integrate mathematics and science through engineering in middle school classrooms. The STEM-ID engineering course sequence consists of three 18-week middle school engineering courses. Each of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade courses integrate science and math with engineering design, enabling students to explore and practice foundational math and science skills in a low-risk, non-high-stakes-tested environment. This Innovation to Practice paper provides illustrative examples of STEM-integration through the STEM-ID curricula, focusing on four key areas: data analysis, measurement, experimental design, and force and motion concepts. Drawing on our project's implementation data, we highlight illustrative examples of STEM integration, in practice, and lessons learned by educators and researchers involved in the project.
Gale, J., Baptiste Porter, D., Alemdar, M., Newton, S., Choi, J., Rehmat, A., & Moore, R. (2025). Integrating math and science through engineering: Illustrative examples from curricula implementation in middle school engineering classrooms. School Science and Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18370