ConnecTions in the Making

The "ConnecTions in the Making" project is funded by the NSF under the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. Working since 2017 with school district and community partners in Boston and Marlborough, we have developed six community-connected, integrated science and engineering curriculum units for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms. In each unit, students learn about an engineering problem in their community, like the construction of a new transit line in Boston, investigate science concepts related to the problem, and then design, build, test, iterate, and share their solutions with school and town community members, including representatives of professional organizations, like the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).

Curriculum Guides

Each unit integrates a community connected design challenge with NGSS-aligned science inquiry.

With Boston Public Schools

3rd Grade

Forces, motion, and magnetismClick here to see the curriculum website.

4th Grade

Earth materials, forces, and modelingClick here to see the curriculum guide.


With Marlborough Public Schools

3rd Grade

Animal habitats and survival Click for PDF or Google Doc of the curriculum guide.Force, motion, and magnetismClick here to see the curriculum guide.

4th Grade

Light, sound, and animal structure & functionClick for PDF or Google Doc of the curriculum guide.

5th Grade

Water cycle, human impactsClick here to see the curriculum guide.

Project Objectives

  • Develop community-connected science and engineering curriculum units that broaden and deepen participation of students from racial and linguistic backgrounds typically marginalized by STEM

  • Equip diverse school districts with the tools to implement community-connected science and engineering curricula

  • Increase upper elementary teachers’ capacity to facilitate integrated science and engineering curricula

  • Study the influence of the units on upper elementary students’ science and engineering ideas, practices, and attitudes

The partnerships that make ConnecTions work.

Research Questions

In addition to the development of the units and the support we provide teachers as they implement the units in their classrooms, the ConnecTions team seeks to answer questions about student participation in engineering design and science inquiry. The papers that explore answers to these questions can be found on our Publications page.

  • In what specific aspects of key disciplinary practices do students participate when supported by differing collaboration and documentation structures?

  • What are the affective and social benefits of elementary student participation in a peer feedback session?

  • How can we iteratively change our professional development and curriculum units to improve equity and sustainability?

  • How do elementary students navigate competing demands while collaboratively generating peer feedback on engineering designs?

  • How can we characterize elementary students’ attention to both design product and process in engineering design peer feedback?

The ConnecTions team

From left to right:

    • Fatima Rahman

    • Chelsea Andrews

    • Nicole Batrouny

    • Tejaswini Dalvi

    • Kristen Wendell

    • Wan Sin Lim (not pictured)

Our undergraduate interns:

    • Christine Kelly

    • Emily Kostolansky

    • Madeleine Oliver

    • Chastidy Vasconez