Date of Award:

5-2025

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Engineering Education

Committee Chair(s)

Marissa Tsugawa

Committee

Marissa Tsugawa

Committee

Kurt Becker

Committee

Angela Minichiello

Abstract

In response to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) released in 2013, there was a nationwide push for K-12 schools to include engineering concepts in science classrooms. However, there is an overall lack of teacher preparedness and training towards engineering topics as shown by common engineering misconceptions. To improve this issue, I initiated a qualitative study to describe the strategies and attitudes of high school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers that have implemented game-based, engineering activities into their classroom. Game-based learning is an instructional framework that utilizes game-like elements in a classroom and was used in this study because the practice helps students develop the problem solving skills required in engineering disciplines while increasing motivation. I collaborated with and supported four Utah, high school STEM teachers on implementing game-based learning strategies into their classroom to teach engineering components of the NGSS. I collected data in the form of interviews, observations, and lesson plans to analyze common themes that describe strategies and attitudes towards using game-based learning to teach engineering.

I developed three themes to understand the background experiences with engineering, teaching practices, and outcomes based on the teacher’s experience. This work resulted in developing emergent connections to how teachers view themselves and connections between game-based learning classroom strategies and engineering design process elements. Strategies observed such as feedback, classroom competition, team collaborations, were used to help with understanding in the problem definition and optimization portion of the engineering design process. This work contributes to understanding strategies and attitudes towards engineering and computer science that teachers use to teach to the new NGSS standards that involve developing and implementing engineering design skills in the K-12 classroom.

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