Fostering Future Innovators: A Pedagogical Approach to Introduce Engineering Design and Robotics in Middle School Science Education

Introducing engineering design early in science education can be a path toward inspiring young students to develop feelings of belonging in STEM. For some educators, robotics kits are seen as a classroom-ready platform for teaching engineering design. However, once the kits are complete, how can teachers continue to leverage those materials for continued learning? In this paper, we describe a curriculum to expand past basic kits to engage students in engineering and bioinspired design. In this case study, after students built a robot gripper kit, teachers guided their classes through needs identification, bio-inspired design practices, and prototype building to address problems they encounter in their daily lives and communities. We show examples of student work and their reflections on the engineering design process. This process allows students to expand their thinking of robotics applications and build confidence in their role as innovators. This paper provides teachers with curriculum and materials needed to extend the use of a variety of robotics kits in their classrooms.