A five-phase instructional framework for integrated STEM teaching. Print this page for a quick reference.
| Phase | What It Does | In Practice |
|---|---|---|
| C — Contextualize | Activates prior knowledge. Frames why this matters through real-world applications, careers, and societal connections. | Open with a real-world problem or scenario. Ask: "Where have you seen this?" Poll or brainstorm to surface what students already know and believe. |
| R — Reframe | Surfaces the wrong mental model and installs the correct one. Creates productive cognitive dissonance. | Present a counterexample, demo, or poll result that challenges assumptions. Name the misconception explicitly. Students discuss in small groups. |
| A — Assemble | Scaffolded skill-building through I Do → We Do → You Do. This is where the hands-on learning happens. | I Do (5 min): Brief facilitator demo. We Do (10-15 min): Guided practice together. You Do (15-25 min): Independent or group application. Aim for 1:5+ talk:do ratio. |
| F — Fortify | Verify, test, and stress-test understanding. Errors are features, not failures. Apply the Check the Machine protocol. | Students verify their work against known references using CtM: Task (what I asked) → Before (what I expected) → After (what happened) → Takeaway (what I learned). |
| T — Transfer | Connects forward to the next concept, a new context, or the student's own world. Makes learning portable. | Students design, plan, or create something that applies what they learned to their context. Share out. Debrief the CRAFT structure itself so students see the pedagogy. |
A 4-step verification framework used in the Fortify phase. Teaches students to verify AI and computational outputs like engineers.
What did you ask the AI/tool to do?
What do you expect the answer to be?
What did the AI/tool actually produce?
What does the gap reveal?