oa A framework for K-12 engineering education at low budget institutions

Peruvian students demonstrate poor performance results in math, science and reading. Critical thinking and significative learning is avoided or rarely infused in the classroom. Teachers are content-oriented, and it is pretended that all students learn the same material at the same time, ignoring individual interest and motivations. Also, the national curriculum ignores cultural diversity and particular necessities in each town and city. Moreover, there is a strong rivalry among schools and low cooperation among teachers of the same school. The Internet features plenty of resources for engineering education. Also, there is low-cost hardware and free software for a variety of engineering projects in the K-12 level.

This paper describes a framework for an integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education approach considering the current context in the Peruvian education system. An ad-hoc methodology was used to promote students interest in engineering by developing extracurricular workshops with an emphasis in electronic engineering, computer science, and physics experiments. We described some engineering workshops and computer programs developed along many years, including a simulator that is being used around the world for logic circuit design. In our experience, building interests in science and engineering can be addressed with extracurricular workshops in an informal setting. We think we must persist in STEM education by reaching all interested teachers and students.