STEM Teaching for the Internet of Things Maker Course: A Teaching Model Based on the Iterative Loop

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 12; no. 14; p. 5758
• Main Authors: Chen, Rongjun, Zheng, Yani, Xu, Xiansheng, Zhao, Huimin, Ren, Jinchang, Tan, Hong-Zhou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Core curriculum; Design engineering; Industrial design; Innovations; Inquiry method; Interdisciplinary subjects; Internet of Things; Knowledge; Learning; Mathematics education; Science education; STEM education; Students; Sustainability; Teaching; Technology education; Theory
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su12145758

As the key technology for 5G applications in the future, the Internet of Things (IoT) is developing rapidly, and the demand for the cultivation of engineering talents in the IoT is also expanding. The rise of maker education has brought new teaching inspiration for cultivating innovative technical talents in the IoT. In the IoT maker course, teaching problems include the lack of adequate teaching models, emphasis on products but less emphasis on theory, and letting students imitate practice. Focusing on these problems, this paper proposes a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching model called Propose, Guide, Design, Comment, Implement, Display and Evaluate (PGDCIDE) for the IoT maker course. The PGDCIDE teaching model is based on STEM teaching and Kolodner’s design-based scientific inquiry learning cycle model, and realizes the combination of “theory, practice, and innovation.” Finally, this paper designs the IoT maker course to practice the PGDCIDE model. The practical results indicate that students significantly improved their emotional level, knowledge level, and innovation level after studying the course. Therefore, the PGDCIDE teaching model proposed in this paper can improve the effectiveness of the IoT maker course teaching and is conducive to the cultivation of students’ sustainable ability in engineering education. It has reference significance for the application of maker courses in engineering education practice.