A STUDY ON CDIO-BASED STEAM PROGRAM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) education has gained popularity in schools, colleges, universities across the United States, Europe, parts of Asia, recently raised in Vietnam. Despite its attraction and preparation for the 21st-century skills, little empirical research and good implementation exists to guide the STEAM program design process as well as effective instructional practices, and even less is known about the challenges associated with individual assessment aiming to expected learning outcomes of the modules developed in the STEAM program. This paper will present a study on the design process and implementation of a CDIO-based STEAM program. In which, the CDIO framework, standards and syllabus are embedded and aligned with the STEAM program in two aspects: in most of the stages of the continuous improvement process of program development and implementation, and in lesson syllabus structure. The research concludes with implications for educational researchers and educators to consider that it is very potential to apply CDIO principles for an integrated curriculum with a project-based method for STEAM education, especially with the CDIO-based STEAM syllabus. The initial satisfaction survey which was taken on more than a hundred students has been carried out and obtained a high score of satisfaction, revealing the suitability in both curriculum and teaching-learning activity design. The CDIO-based maker space reflects its superior advantages of supporting innovative learning environments. Therefore, good practices on CDIO implementation are recommended for further discussion by the STEAM community.