ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION - Spring 2021 - Programming, Robotics, and Control for High School Students

Oct 15, 2026

Recent changes to STEM education in the United States seek to increase participation in STEM degrees and careers. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) integrate engineering and science principles, providing the first national engineering standards for pre-undergraduate curriculum. The work presents a project-based learning engineering program for high school students covering programming, robotics, and control, with progressively sophisticated projects and outcomes aligned to NGSS practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

RECENT CHANGES IN STEM EDUCATION

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SPRING 2021 Programming, Robotics, and Control for High School Students DAVID A. COPP University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA JASON T. ISAACS California State University, Channel Islands Camarillo, CA AND JOÃO P. HESPANHA University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA ABSTRACT Recent changes have been made in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the United States with the goal of increasing the number of students pursuing degrees and careers in STEM. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) integrate new science and engineering standards in an attempt to achieve this goal and are the first national engineering standards for curriculum below the undergraduate level. Towards accommodating these changes, we present a project-based learning engineering program for high school students that teaches fundamental concepts in programming, robotics, and control engineering. The students complete increasingly sophisticated projects that expose them to large solution spaces where creativity and exploration lead to unique solutions. The learning goals of the program align with the NGSS practices while also giving the students a head-start on material and key skills they will need when pursuing bachelor’s degrees in engineering. Specifically, the program gives students experience completing engineering projects, from concept and design through implementation and evaluation. We describe the projects, including learning goals and outcomes, as well as the hardware and software we used so that others can reproduce the program. Finally, we present feedback from students as well as insights from the mentors. Ultimately, we found that students leave the program with a better understanding of what practicing engineers do and with motivation to apply critical thinking and other NGSS practices in their future learning and careers. Key words: project based learning, high school, engineering curriculum SPRING 2021 1 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Programming, Robotics, and Control for High School Students RECENT CHANGES IN STEM EDUCATION The landscape of science and engineering education in grades K-12 is changing in the United States. The concept of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education was coined by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the 1990’s after several decades of increased interest in innovation, technology, and engineering after the 1957 launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik and the following space race (Woodruff 2013) . For the last two decades, various approaches to teaching STEM curriculum have been developed and evaluated. Many of these approaches were spurred on by national research and new national standards for K-12 STEM education. For instance, the NSF published a “National Action Plan” in 2007 to address educational needs for STEM in the 21st century (NSF: National Science Board 2007) . They note that addressing the STEM education needs of U. S. students is paramount in sustaining the economic success and national security of the country. More recently, the National Research Council (NRC) identified goals for STEM education in the United States as well as criteria and key elements of effective STEM instruction (National Research Council 2011) . These goals include 1) increasing the number of students who pursue advanced degrees and careers in STEM fields, 2) expanding the STEM-capable workforce (including K-12 teachers in STEM disciplines), and 3) increasing the STEM literacy of all students, even those not pursuing STEMrelated careers, in order to better prepare all citizens for a society driven by science and technology. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States 2013) are an attempt to achieve these goals. The NGSS include a framework that integrates the teaching of e

FAQs

What is the main goal of the presented engineering program for high school students?

To teach fundamental concepts in programming, robotics, and control engineering through project-based learning aligned with NGSS practices.

How does the program structure student learning?

Students complete increasingly sophisticated projects that expose them to large solution spaces, encouraging creativity and exploration.

Why is project-based learning (PBL) considered effective for STEM education in this work?

PBL uses challenging, complex projects to develop problem solving, design, and decision-making skills, with instructors acting as mentors or facilitators rather than only lecturers.

Oct 15, 2026

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