Teo, Tang Wee

Most STEM curricula focus on problem-solving an authentic issue. However, design-centric STEM curricula have been addressed to a lesser extent. This article reports on findings from a case study on a group of students that have conducted a STEM inquiry project to problem-solve an authentic issue. The STEM inquiry transition to design-centric STEM was organically derived from the interactions between the teacher and students. Qualitative data analysis of the students’ interviews, written reports and reflections was conducted using a prescriptive list of codes that categorises different types of knowledge in 21st century learning. The findings showed students’ content, meta, and humanistic learning outcomes during problem-centric inquiry, and other humanistic outcomes during design-centric inquiry. Implications on integrated STEM curriculum design and contributions to the STEM education literature on the potential diverse affordances of different centricities of STEM curriculum are discussed.