The problem-project-oriented STEM education plays a significant role in training students' ability of innovation. Although the conceive-design-implement-operate (CDIO) approach and the computational thinking (CT) are hot topics in recent decade, there are still two deficiencies: the CDIO approach and CT are discussed separately and a general framework of coping with complex STEM problems in system modeling and simulation is missing. In this paper, a collaborative strategy based on the CDIO and CT is proposed for solving complex STEM problems in system modeling and simulation with a general framework, in which the CDIO is about ``how to do", CT is about ``how to think", and the project means ``what to do". As an illustration, the problem of solving the period of mathematical pendulum (MP) is discussed in detail. The most challenging task involved in the problem is to compute the complete elliptic integral of the first kind (CEI-1). In the philosophy of STEM education, all problems have more than one solutions. For computing the CEI-1, four methods are discussed with a top-down strategy, which includes the infinite series method, arithmetic-geometric mean (AGM) method, Gauss-Chebyshev method and Gauss-Legendre method. The algorithms involved can be utilized for R & D projects of interest and be reused according to the requirements encountered. The general framework for solving complex STEM problem in system modeling and simulation is worth recommending to the college students and instructors.

翻译：问题-项目导向的STEM教育在培养学生创新能力中起着重要作用。尽管近年来构思-设计-实施-运行（CDIO）方法与计算思维（CT）成为热点，但仍存在两个不足：CDIO方法与CT被分别讨论，且缺乏处理系统建模与仿真中复杂STEM问题的通用框架。本文提出基于CDIO与CT的协同策略，用于解决系统建模与仿真中的复杂STEM问题，并构建了通用框架——其中CDIO关注"如何做"，CT关注"如何思考"，而项目则指明"做什么"。以数学摆（MP）周期求解问题为例进行详细说明，该问题最具挑战性的任务是计算第一类完全椭圆积分（CEI-1）。基于STEM教育哲学中"所有问题均有多种解法"的理念，本文采用自上而下的策略讨论了四种计算CEI-1的方法，包括无穷级数法、算术-几何平均（AGM）法、高斯-切比雪夫法和高斯-勒让德法。所涉及的算法可用于相关研发项目，并能根据实际需求重复使用。该解决系统建模与仿真中复杂STEM问题的通用框架值得向高校学生和教师推荐。