A World in Motion
Impact
AWIM has one of the broadest program reaches of any STEM program serving students in the U.S. Since 1990, the program has experienced an evolution exceeding the pace of other science and technology STEM programming in every case. Since program inception, we have directly serviced over 5,000,000 students in the classroom. AWIM is research proven to not only increase student performance and attitudes toward STEM, it’s also improving teacher preparedness and comfort in delivering STEM instruction in the traditional classroom setting. AWIM teachers across the U.S. report: *94% of students developed an increased interest in exploring math and/or science concepts. *72% of students displayed a significant increase in the math and/or science scores. *81% of students displayed a change of attitude toward math and/or science. *84% of students demonstrate increased excitement or decreased intimidation toward learning science. *91% of students demonstrated increased awareness of the engineering profession. *84% of students demonstrated and interest in an engineering career. *88% of students demonstrate an understanding of the engineering profession.
Accomplished
- Need Accomplished
- Evaluation Accomplished
- Sustainability Accomplished
- Replication & Scalability Accomplished
- Partnerships Accomplished
- Capacity Accomplished
- Challenging & Relevant Content Developing
- STEM Practices Accomplished
- Inspiration Accomplished
- Under-Represented Groups Developing

The SAE Foundation’s STEM educational programs are vital to ensuring we ignite the passion for math and science in young students who will be the future leaders of the automobile industry. At a recent SAE A World in Motion third-grade Skimmer project, I was especially gratified to see students having so much fun applying key principles of math and science.”
CEO of General Motors
Design Principles
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished () across all Design Principles, or be Developing (
) in a maximum of three areas.
Overarching Principles
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Need Accomplished
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
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Evaluation Accomplished
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
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Sustainability Accomplished
Ensure work is sustainable.
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Replication & Scalability Accomplished
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
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Partnerships Accomplished
Create high impact partnerships.
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Capacity Accomplished
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
STEM Principles
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Challenging & Relevant Content Developing
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.
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STEM Practices Accomplished
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
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Inspiration Accomplished
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
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Under-Represented Groups Developing
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.
Program Overview
The A World In Motion® program is a K-12 teacher-administered program that brings STEM education to life in the classroom. It allows students to work within an integrated structure to solve a Challenge by setting goals, building knowledge, designing and building a prototype, then defending their design decisions through presentation. The AWIM program provides age-appropriate multidisciplinary hands-on experiences for students. Each AWIM Challenge is benchmarked to Common Core, NGSS and local educational science standards/frameworks and combines a comprehensive curriculum built around the AWIM Engineering Design Experience.
The AWIM Engineering Design Experience is built in direct alignment with research-driven K-12 instructional practices. Students not only engage in all STEM disciplines, but work within an integrated system that facilitates a focus on English Language Arts and the Creative Arts.
AWIM provides a direct and scalable STEM solution designed as a turn-key educational initiative that remedies antiquated contend delivery structures. Through AWIM, educators implement instructional delivery techniques that meet the classroom-based needs of today and into the future. Educators that engage in AWIM are research-proven to obtain a higher confidence level in delivering STEM instruction after their AWIM experience. For more information, please visit our website www.awim.org.
Funders and Partners
- Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia
- GM Foundation
- Toyota
- Nissan
- John Deere
- Caterpillar
- Bosch
- Borg Warner
- Honeywell
- Fiat Chrysler Automotive
- Alcoa
- Many More (see https://www.sae.org/learn/education/special-initiatives)