Building Improvised Microbial Fuel Cells: A Model Integrated STEM Curriculum for Middle-School Learners in Singapore

The benefits of STEM education for learning important knowledge, skills, and affect are widely accepted, though the former is currently absent in Singapore's formal curriculum. This study therefore describes a model-integrated STEM curriculum at the middle-school level for developing scientific as well engineering literacy. Based on design-based inquiry (DBI), it incorporated inquiry science learning with an engineering design challenge for students to build improvised microbial fuel cells (MFC). Co-planned with science teachers from various disciplines, the curriculum was implemented as a 10-week enrichment program with two groups of Grade 8 students (N = 77) from one secondary school in Singapore. Through the use of vignettes, we show how learning about/of science and engineering occurred in the conceptual, epistemic, and social domains. In addition, students applied evidence-based reasoning, various epistemic skills, and a variety of problem-solving approaches as they iteratively improved their MFC set-ups, which often outperformed commercial kits. This proof-of-concept case study represents the first successful implementation of a STEM-integrated curriculum for middle-school students and can serve as a model for the development of similar programs elsewhere.