This book reports the results of a three-year research program funded by the National Science Foundation which targeted students and teachers from four Detroit high schools in order for them to learn, experience, and use IT within the context of STEM (IT/STEM), and explore 21st century career and educational pathways. The book discusses the accomplishment of these goals through the creation of a Community of Designers-- an environment in which high school students and teachers, undergraduate/graduate student assistants, and STEM area faculty and industry experts worked together as a cohesive team. The program created four project-based design teams, one for each STEM area. Each team had access to two year-round IT/STEM enrichment experiences to create high-quality learning projects, strategies, and curriculum models. These strategies were applied in after school, weekend, and summer settings through hands-on, inquiry-based activities with a strong emphasis on non-traditional approaches to learning and understanding. The book represents the first comprehensive description and analysis of the research program and suggests a plan for future development and refinement. Review Review From the Back Cover This book reports the results of a three-year research program funded by the National Science Foundation which targeted students and teachers from four Detroit high schools in order for them to learn, experience, and use IT within the context of STEM (IT/STEM), and explore 21st century career and educational pathways. The book discusses the accomplishment of these goals through the creation of a Community of Designers-- an environment in which high school students and teachers, undergraduate/graduate student assistants, and STEM area faculty and industry experts worked together as a cohesive team. The program created four project-based design teams, one for each STEM area. Each team had access to two year-round IT/STEM enrichment experiences to create high-quality learning projects, strategies, and curriculum models. These strategies were applied in after school, weekend, and summer settings through hands-on, inquiry-based activities with a strong emphasis on non-traditional approaches to learning and understanding. The book represents the first comprehensive description and analysis of the research program and suggests a plan for future development and refinement. About the Author Mesut Duran, Ph.D. Dr. Mesut Duran is a Professor of Technology at the College of Education, Health, and Human Services, University of Michigan-Dearborn. He completed his B.A. at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. He received M.Ed. in Microcomputer Applications in Education and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Ohio University. Dr. Durand received “Outstanding Paper Award” for his paper presented at the 10th International SITE Conference in 2008. He has over 70 publications and presentations in top journals and conferences including Journal of Science Education and Technology, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, Computers in the Schools, and Computers in Human Behavior. Dr. Duran’s research is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. Margret Hoft, Ph.D. Dr. Hoft is professor emerita of mathematics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, having retired from active faculty status on April 30, 2012. She received graduate degrees in mathematics and physics from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn in Germany and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Houston in Texas. Dr. Hoft’s early work focused on order-sums in classes of partially ordered algebras and on fixed points for order-preserving maps in partially ordered sets. Her research led to publications in the Journal für Reine und Angewandte Mathematik, Algebra Universalis, and
