New Educational Materials: Engineering in the Classroom

Written by Nathan Smith on October 29, 2015. Posted in STEM and STEAM.

Are you concerned about how engineering fits into your K-12 science curriculum? The education team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has created a set of videos and supporting text for educators to illustrate how real-world engineering at NASA can be applied to the Next Generation Science Standards.

The new instructor guide has a video for each grade span and NGSS “Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science” performance expectation. Each video shows how JPL applies the standard, offers a lesson plan or activity, and makes suggestions for making the standard relevant.

Check out the guide at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/resources/engineering-in-the-classroom.php.

Looking for more? NASA’s Educational Resource Search Tool can help you find lesson plans, posters, educator guides and other materials to boost your science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum. Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keywords.

To check out the search tool and begin your hunt for educational resources, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/materials/.

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith is Director of Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. In that role, he also directs The Adele & Dale Young Education Technology Center (The YETC) located in room 170 of the Education Building on Utah State University's Logan campus. The YETC is a combination student openaccess computer facility, a K12 curriculum materials library, a NASA Educator Resource Center for Utah, and a technology training center. Nathan served eight years (20042012) on the Board of Directors for the Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) He was reelected in 2014 to serve another two year term on the board. A former elementary school teacher, Nathan has taught students every age from young children to senior citizens. He has had the opportunity beginning in 2011 to train international high school teachers from all over the world about technology in education, through the U.S. State