Measuring the Impact of Engineering Design Activities on Student Learning in High School Biology and Chemistry: A Research-in-Progress Report Debra Brockway, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ Cary Sneider, Portland State University, Portland, OR Xiaodong Zhang, Westat, Washington, D.C. ABSTRACT Calls for reform of science education over the past few years have focused on the need for integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics—the STEM fields. But there is no consensus on how to go about this integration, and research on effective approaches is sparse. This study will investigate the effectiveness of one approach—introducing engineering design activities into the high school biology and chemistry curriculum. The study will use a matched-pair randomized experimental design, and will take place in two stages: a pilot study with 16 teachers and classrooms during the first year of the project, and a large sample study with 72 teachers and classrooms during the second year of the project. Outcomes will be measured with pre-post tests of science and 21 st century skills, incorporating a newly-developed performance test of collaboration and communication capabilities. This work-in-progress report is being submitted as the pilot study is about to begin. Key Words: Engineering Education; High School; Research; Biology; Chemistry INTRODUCTION The landscape of science education in the United States is undergoing rapid change. One of the major drivers of change is a call for the integration of science with technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Goals for STEM education include general literacy—to enable all students to prosper as workers, consumers, and citizens in the modern world—and the need to expand the pool of young people who aspire to careers in these fields so as to strengthen our nation’s technical workforce (U.S. ED, 2008; NSB, 2007; AAAS, 1993; NAS, NAE, and IOM, 2007). However, there is no consensus about how to integrate these subjects. This research project will explore one possible avenue—integrating engineering design activities into high school biology and chemistry curricula. The use of engineering design activities as a means of teaching physics is common, such as communicating the concept of kinetic and potential energy in the context of roller coasters, or applying Newton’s laws to rocketry and the launching of space satellites. While the use of engineering design in biology and chemistry concepts is less common, there are good reasons to do so. Many more high school students take these courses (particularly biology) than those who take physics, and many fewer female students take physics than male students (NCES, 2005; NJDOE, 2007). If the teaching of engineering design concepts continues to be confined to