This research project evaluated the presence of collaboration, inquiry, and persistence in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school interdisciplinary unit. The school personnel strive to infuse the school's five "habits of mind," collaboration, inquiry, persistence, creativity, and communication, in their everyday pedagogical practice. Although faculty members were comfortable evaluating student creativity and communication, they struggled to evaluate student collaboration, inquiry, and persistence. The research goal was to collect data on the frequency at which students were engaging in these behaviors and the ways by which the project facilitated these behaviors. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to address these questions. Results indicated that collaboration, inquiry, and persistence were observed over the three days. Collaboration was dominant early, giving way to inquiry, while persistence behaviors increased over the three days. Faculty will utilize these results to influence instructional and assessment practices related to similar future projects. © Common Ground, Authors, All Rights Reserved.
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