From Context to Connection: Client Letters in STEM Integration Curricula
Real-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, rea...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/696 |
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| Summary: | Real-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, real-world problems. This study investigates the role of client letters in synergizing knowledge within immersive engineering design-based STEM integration curricula. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of 107 client letters embedded in 18 freely available K-12 STEM integration curricular units. Using a theoretical framework that aligns immersive education principles with the STEM Integration Framework, we analyzed how these letters support curricular progression, knowledge building, and student engagement. Findings show that client letters structure and scaffold learning through messaging themes that align with the engineering design process (e.g., problem framing, scoping, and design detailing) and support immersive learning through narrative features such as motivation triggers, dramatic structure, and involvement of the self. Based on these findings, we present the Conceptual Framework for Client Letter Development, which categorizes the instructional and narrative functions of client letters. This framework offers practical guidance for educators and curriculum developers seeking to design immersive, integrative STEM learning experiences. |
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| ISSN: | 2227-7102 |