TRAILS incorporates engineering design as a STEM subject integrator and scientific inquiry to provide an authentic learning context for promoting 21^st century skills for high school students. Additionally, the project seeks effective strategies to increase STEM self-efficacy within high school science (biology or physics) and engineering/technology teachers and advance students’ learning of STEM content at schools in rural school settings. A unique feature of TRAILS is the use of entomology as the context for STEM learning generating 3D printed of biomimicry inspired design solutions. 

Bio | Todd R. Kelley is an Associate Professor in Technology Leadership and Innovation. Dr. Kelley joined Purdue in 2008 upon completion of his PhD at the University of Georgia. He was hired as a P-12 STEM educational researcher and technology teacher educator. His dissertation research was on teaching and learning engineering design in secondary education.  Prior to graduate school, Kelley was a high school and middle school technology education teacher for nine years teaching in three school districts in New York state and Indiana.

Dr. Kelley's research focus is in design and cognition seeking to better understand how young students learn design and how design improves STEM education.  He joined a team of researchers to create a program to improve learning STEM in elementary grades, and the team was awarded an NSF Math and Science partnership called Science Learning Through Engineering Design (SLED). Kelley is currently the PI on an NSF I-Test project called Teachers and Researchers Advancing Integrated Lessons in STEM (TRAILS). TRAILS prepares science and technology education teachers to integrate STEM content through biomimicry inspired engineering design within the context of entomology.

Dr. Kelley the program coordinator for the engineering/technology teacher education program at Purdue. Dr. Kelley is also leading the second year Designing Technology for People course for the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.  The course is a collaboration between the Polytechnic and Anthropology to integrate ethnographic approaches by developing technological and engineering design human centered design solutions.

Dr. Kelley is happily married to Diane for over 19 years. They have four children: Mark age 14, Kate age 11, and twin daughters Alyssa and Ashley age 7. Dr. Kelley and his wife Diane are active members of Riverside Covenant Church, West Lafayette.