Connecting the STEM dots: measuring the effect of an integrated engineering design intervention

Recent publications have elevated the priority of increasing the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content for K-12 education. The STEM education community must invest in the development of valid and reliable to scales to measure STEM content, knowledge fusion, and perceptions of the nature of STEM. This brief report discusses the development of an instrument to measure student perceptions of the interdependent nature of STEM content knowledge in the context of a complex classroom intervention implemented in five Colorado high schools (N = 275). Specifically, cross-functional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teams of high school students were formed to complete engineering design problems. Exploratory (pretest) and confirmatory (posttest) factor analyses indicated that a newly adapted scale to measure student perceptions of the interdependent nature of STEM content knowledge had possessed adequate model fit. Furthermore, analysis revealed a novel pattern of results for the intervention. Specifically, students with initially high perceptions of the interdependent nature of STEM sustained their high perceptions at posttest; however, students with initially low perceptions exhibited statistically significantly positive gains from pretest to posttest. Therefore, this intervention may work best with students who are at risk of losing interest in STEM disciplines. The implications of these research findings are discussed.