High School Physics: An Interactive Instructional Approach That Meets the Next Generation Science Standards

Improving high school physics teaching and learning is important to the long-term success of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Efforts are currently in place to develop an understanding of science among high school students through formal and informal educational experiences in engineering design activities emphasizing the science and engineering practices included in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) framework (NGSS Lead States, 2013). This article investigates physics learning and teaching research and the use of engineering design in the teaching of physics. By integrating engineering into STEM, students may apply scientific ideas to solving an engineering design problem while carrying and transferring knowledge in core science areas. The purpose of the research was to investigate perceptions of physics teachers at high schools across the United States. The research included interview and survey data.