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Developing a Vision of Pre-College Engineering Education
Abstract
We report the results of a study focused on identifying and articulating an ‘‘epistemic foundation’’ underlying a pre-collegiate focus on engineering. We do so in the context of UTeachEngineering (UTE), a program supported in part by funding by the National Science Foundation and designed to develop a model approach to address the systematic challenges facing this work—from identifying learning goals, to certifying pre- and in-service teachers for engineering courses to developing a research-based high school engineering course. Given the systemic nature of the UTE approach, this model is positioned to serve as a starting point to further the conversation around two of the National Academy of Engineering Committee on Standards in K-12 Engineering Education (2010) central recommendations for future work in this area: (1) Identification of core ideas in engineering, and (2) creation of guidelines for instructional materials. Toward that end, project faculty and staff were interviewed and/or surveyed about their views on the goals and outcomes of engineering and engineering teacher education, as well as strategies design to reach these goals and the warrants for them. Data were analyzed following a grounded protocol. The results align well with previous efforts to identify ‘‘core engineering concepts, skills, and dispositions for K-12 education’’ (National Academy of Engineering Committee on Standards in K-12 Engineering Education, 2010, Annex to Chapter 3).
... Achieving engineering literacy for all requires that equity be at the forefront of any engineering learning initiative (Marshall and Berland, 2012;Strimel et al., 2020). Whether at the national, state, district, or school level, instruction and classroom culture should be affected by deliberate efforts to ensure equitable approaches to engineering. ...
... Engineering learning must include, value, and support learners of all kinds (Marshall and Berland, 2012). This involves connecting with student interests, culture, and experiences in an effort to make engineering learning relevant to their lives. ...
... Put plainly, no P-12 engineering framework is complete without compelling associations to science, and no P-12 science standards are complete without compelling associations with engineering. This is important, as engineering rarely has a place in the general curricula of schools and is often implemented as a component of more broadly accepted science, technology, and mathematics courses (Marshall and Berland, 2012). As such, many of the teachers who will ultimately teach engineering will likely have a background in these other subjects rather than engineering. ...
Download @ https://www.p12engineering.org/framework -
Engineering touches every aspect of human life, from providing access to clean drinking water to 5G telecommunications and vaccine development. Yet few young people ever encounter the subject in school or graduate with the foundational skills and knowledge to pursue engineering studies and careers. Now more than ever, we must inspire and prepare our students to grow into the informed designers and innovators the world needs to solve the tough challenges facing us today and in the future. In short, engineering learning is essential for every child in every school, town, city, and county in the country. Many of us within the P-12 education community recognize that there is something special about engineering learning. When given the opportunity to engineer, students of a variety of ages and backgrounds are motivated and eager to tackle difficult problems. They work together. They communicate. They are critical and creative and resourceful. We’ve seen it with our own eyes, experienced it as teachers and professional development coordinators, and advocated for it at parent/teacher nights, school board meetings, and legislative briefings. We know that engineering should be taught in parallel with science and math to ensure an equitable, authentic, relevant, and exciting STEM education experience. However, there have been minimal efforts at the state and local level toward adopting engineering as a distinct component of every child’s schooling.
The Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning is a step toward changing that status quo and democratizing engineering learning across all grade levels, preschool through high school. The framework was developed with teachers, school administrators, and researchers working in concert with leaders of the Advancing Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education (AE3) research collaborative and the American Society of Engineering Education. It provides practical guidance by identifying common P-12 engineering learning goals that all students should reach to become engineering literate. The document will add structure and coherence to the P-12 engineering community by serving as a foundation for the development of any and all engineering programs in schools, informing state and national standards-setting efforts, and providing researchers with a common starting point to better investigate and understand P-12 engineering learning.
The framework is envisioned as both a practical guide and critical first step in a national movement to make engineering a part of every child’s educational experience. Whether you are a state education policy leader, district administrator, teacher, researcher, industry partner, or educational company, we invite you to join us in our mission.
... At this point we had 20 articles found to be design-based research studies. Three articles summarized long-term design-based projects as overviews of their work (Bernhard, 2010;Chiu & Linn, 2011;Marshall & Berland, 2012), but these articles did not include descriptions of the research methods or findings that would allow synthesis with the other articles in terms of research design. Instead, these three articles were more expository and editorial in nature rather than reports of specific research findings. ...
... Some projects were one phase of a large study (e.g., the impact study by Blanchard et al., 2015) or one aspect of a larger study (e.g., Tang, 2013). The three overview papers we did not include in our detailed analysis provide descriptions of long-term projects that evolved over many years (e.g., Bernhard, 2010;Chiu & Linn, 2011;Marshall & Berland, 2012). Such overviews are helpful for understanding overarching frameworks, revision over time, and the larger context of a design-based research project. ...
Background: Design-based research frameworks have become more widely embraced by education researchers since 2003. Ann Brown (1992) first suggested design-based research as a means to move research about learning from the laboratory to the classroom setting. Design-based research does not imply particular methods, but rather is an epistemological approach to carrying out research projects focused on the design of an innovation. This shift in epistemological outcome shifts how researchers consider evidence gathering and analysis. So how are engineering education researchers using and reporting on design-based research? Purpose: The design of educational innovations should be situated in context and balance both theory and practice. In this paper, we summarize research in engineering education that has used a design-based research approach. We first describe design-based research from a theoretical and epistemological perspective and then present its use thus far in engineering education settings. Our goal is to suggest it as a useful model for undertaking engineering education research that advances knowledge about the design of learning environments. Scope: Our analysis is situated in significant features of design-based research (Kelly, 2004; Sandoval, 2014). Our review process began with systematically searching for articles and then coding them for the features of design-based research. We have coded a set of engineering education and design-based research articles to summarize the contexts, conjectures, and design cycles. Discussion/Conclusions: We found articles across K–12 and higher education settings. The articles focused on designing models and tools for engineering education including curriculum, tasks, and frameworks. First, design-based research in engineering education includes conjectures about engineering disciplinary practices, problem-based learning, and affective aspects of students’ learning. Second, cycles of design inform improvement and theory development. Design-based research is still emerging in engineering education but has potential for building knowledge and developing resources grounded in practice.
... Over the last few decades, STEM education has been focused on developing successful programs that expand the numbers of secondary students transitioning into science and technology fields as isolated efforts [5][6][7]. Integrating engineering into the pre-college classrooms, as both an avenue to technological literacy and to enhance the engineering pathways, is critical to broadening participation [8]. This integration emphasizes the need for inquiry-based, culturally sensitive programs, aligned with both school curricula and STEM career needs, that engage students in hands-on projects, community engagement, and connections with industry [9,10]. ...
... Similarly, the National Research Council (2009) argues for introducing engineering at the K-12 level, so all students would be ready to face local and global problems as informed decision-makers. In addition, several scholars argue that all students need a basic understanding of how engineers work and engineering's impact on the welfare of society (English et al., 2011;Marshall & Berland, 2012). In the meantime, there is a decline in the engineering workforce globally. ...
... Although project-based learning (PBL) has a long research tradition, the field could benefit from more observations of classroom-level lesson enactments integrating science, engineering, and literacy, particularly at the elementary level. Regarding the engineering components specifically, as engineering is a new subject at the elementary level in the USA, researchers and curriculum developers have many questions about what engineering design looks like with young children(Marshall & Berland, 2012). ...
... Such a program could benefit from content and assessment instruments that can support the development of mechanistic reasoning. In addition, researchers and educators(Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008; Coyle, Jamieson, & Oaks, 2005;Cunningham, 2009;Hynes et al., 2011;Lachapelle & Cunningham, 2014;Marshall & Berland, 2012;Moore et al., 2014;Moore, Tank, Glancy, & Kersten, 2015;Roehrig, Moore, Wang, & Park, 2012) have done ...
... One of the main goals of K-12 engineering education is to help students learn and practice engineering design (Marshall & Berland, 2012;Martin et al., 2015). Engineering design is central to professional engineering, so design-focused engineering education aligns learning at school with the experiences of engineers (Berland et al., 2014) and prepares engineers for the future (Cardella et al., 2008). ...
https://citejournal.org/volume-22/issue-1-22/science/preservice-elementary-teachers-engineering-design-during-a-robotics-project/
... 7 Furthermore, high school exposure to hands-on challenges could spark interest in current engineering problems and prime students to tackle medical and other bioengineering needs through future formal education. 8 Several outreach programs have addressed special topics in tissue engineering, biomaterials development and biomechanics 9-11 ; Knudson and Wallace. 12 Through an international program, Ahluwalia and collaborators implemented a BME design school for European and African students. ...
In this paper we designed a STEM outreach program with a modular tissue engineering education tool (we refer to as “modular cyclic-stretch device”) to engage high school students in STEM hands-on activities. Using simple machines such as gears and rotating cams, students were able to build a custom device to apply cyclic stretch to biomaterials. With the help of this hands-on activity, our outreach program helped students grasp tendon tissue biomechanics and understand the importance of applying biomechanical force to regenerate tendon tissue in a laboratory setting. The two-day outreach program comprised: 1. pre- and post-tests; 2. lectures; 3. laboratory sessions, including the microscopic examination of stained tissue sections and a hands-on group activity employing the modular cyclic-stretch device; and 4. homework. Assessment results suggest that our program supports improved student awareness and interest in tissue engineering as a future profession. The program elevated students’ confidence in their ability to apply engineering principles to tasks such as building a modular cyclic-stretch device and measuring the mechanical properties of biological tissues. Building an educational bioreactor improved students’ understanding of the dynamic nature of the human body and the importance of tissue engineering as an emerging discipline towards replacing or regenerating damaged organs. We propose that our modular device has great outreach potential to introduce tissue engineering concepts to high school and potentially college freshmen engineering students.
... Despite the fact that students across the country engage in formal P-12 engineering-related coursework [13], the foremost gap lies in the absence of widely accepted P-12 engineering expectations, which would have the ability to provide a mutual understanding of engineering's place and impact throughout the education of primary and secondary students, along with the ability to respond to the inequities of engineering experiences within schools [8] [9] [14]- [16]. For example, the NAE [8] report specifically states that ''one need is for a better understanding of what engineering content knowledge teachers need for different grade bands." ...
The REPS project seeks to investigate how to best implement engineering learning as defined by the Framework for P-12 Engineering Learning. As put forth in the framework, “associated grade-band specific implementation guides will leverage the content of this report to describe and propose appropriate engineering learning across the grades for all children to engage in rigorous and authentic learning experiences to think, act, and learn like an engineer". The Framework set the conceptual organization for P-12 engineering learning and provided preliminary Engineering Literacy Expectations and Engineering Performance Matrices for high school learners. Leveraging this roadmap provided in the Framework, REPS completes the vision by adding the Preschool (P)-Grade 8 components. The REPS project engages the broader P-12 engineering education community in articulating expectations for engineering learning for early learning, elementary, and middle school students to serve as the connecting elements necessary for authentic engineering learning efforts across the grades. The REPS project brings to bear the combined expertise of educators, professional engineers, and researchers in the field of engineering education to refine and complete a consensus on the nature of engineering literacy development for all students from preschool through high school.
... Although progress has been made in developing models and curricula that consider literacy-and language-related engineering habits of mind (e.g., Marshall & Berland, 2012;NAE, 2009) such as sharing design ideas and collaborative decision-making, there remains a strong need for empirical research regarding these interpersonal practices inherent to engineering design, particularly in K-12 education (Katehi et al., 2009). These literacy-and language-related engineering habits of mind can be considered discipline-specific practices within the field of engineering. ...
... While millions of students participate in formal P-12 engineering coursework (Marshall & Berland, 2012), a major problem has been the lack of broadly accepted P-12 engineering standards and a shared understanding of the role of engineering within primary and secondary schools (Chandler, Fontenot, & Tate, 2011). As an operationalized and sequenced progression of engineering learning continues to be lacking at the P-12 level, the authors hope that the taxonomy resulting from this study can serve as the kernel for expanding the definition of engineering literacy. ...
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/vol10/iss1/4/
Engineering education has increasingly become an area of interest at the P-12 level, yet attempts to align engineering knowledge, skills, and habits to existing elementary and secondary educational programming have been parochial in nature (e.g., for a specific context, grade, or initiative). Consequently, a need exists to establish a coherent P-12 content framework for engineering teaching and learning, which would serve as both an epistemological foundation for the subject and a guide for the design of developmentally appropriate educational standards, performance expectations, learning progressions, and assessments. A comprehensive framework for P-12 engineering education would include a compelling rationale and vision for the inclusion of engineering as a compulsory subject, content organization for the dimensions of engineering literacy, and a plan for the realization of this vision. The absence of such a framework could yield inconsistency in authentically educating students in engineering. In response, this study was conducted to establish a taxonomy of concepts related to both engineering knowledge and practices to support the development of a P-12 curricular framework. A modified Delphi method and a series of focus groups—which included teachers, professors, industry professionals, and other relevant stakeholders—were used to reach a consensus on engineering concepts deemed appropriate for secondary study. As a result, a content taxonomy for knowledge and practices appropriate for P-12 engineering emerged through multiple rounds of refinement. This article details the efforts to develop this taxonomy, and discusses how it can be used for standards creation, curriculum development, assessment of learning, and teacher preparation.
... Such a program could benefit from content and assessment instruments that can support the development of mechanistic reasoning. In addition, researchers and educators(Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008; Coyle, Jamieson, & Oaks, 2005;Cunningham, 2009;Hynes et al., 2011;Lachapelle & Cunningham, 2014;Marshall & Berland, 2012;Moore et al., 2014;Moore, Tank, Glancy, & Kersten, 2015;Roehrig, Moore, Wang, & Park, 2012) have done ...
... As the role of design in engineering curriculum at all levels of education has been established, it is fundamental to comprehend ways in which to best teach and learn the practices of engineering design [13,34]. Because design involves the complex mental processes of inquiry, synthesis, analysis, and decision-making, research investigating how designers think and learn has been conducted across multiple disciplines and professions since the 1970's [18]. ...
This study investigated the design cognition and performance results of secondary and post-secondary engineering students while engaged in an engineering design task. Relationships between prototype performance and design cognition were highlighted to investigate potential links between cognitive processes and success on engineering design problems. Concurrent think-aloud protocols were collected from eight secondary and 12 post-secondary engineering students working individually to design, make, and evaluate a solution prototype to an engineering design task. The collected protocols were segmented and coded using a pre-established coding scheme. The results were then analyzed to compare the two participant groups and determine the relationships between students' design cognition, engineering experience level, and design performance. Significant differences between participants with secondary engineering experiences and those without were found in regards to the amount of time various cognitive processes were employed to complete a design task. For the given design scenario, students with secondary engineering experiences achieved significantly higher rubric scores than those without. Improved design performance was also found to be significantly correlated with more time employing the mental processes of analyzing, communicating, designing, interpreting data, predicting, and questioning/hypothesizing. Important links between educational experiences in engineering design, prior to college, and student success on engineering design problems may indicate necessary shifts in student preparation.
... I, the author, have been the teaching assistant for Classroom Interactions for six consecutive semesters. In prior semesters, pedagogical design for project-based inquiry was modeled through an engineering design challenge where students constructed a pinhole camera during the first few days of the course (Berland, 2013;Marshall & Berland, 2012). The learning activities from the pinhole camera included engaging students in inquiry-based learning from day one, contextualizing student work within a STEM-design challenge, and modeling an exemplar project-based activity to draw from pedagogically throughout the semester. ...
This paper narrates the process of designing a curricular unit that serves to introduce preservice science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers to computer science (CS) education. Unlike most literature that focuses on results and findings, this paper explains how a justice-centered approach to CS education informed decisions about the theoretical underpinnings of curricular design choices. Situated in issues related to the gentrification of Austin, Texas, the described curricular unit explores how the increased use of CS and growth of the technology sector are having a direct impact on the historically marginalized residents of East Austin. Connected by a theme that maps are both a form of data visualization and political artifact, the described curricular unit uses CS as a tool to: critique the macro-ethics of politics and society; provide a CS learning environment that can be responsive to the multiple social identities of students; and connect CS to larger struggles for justice and liberation.
... Because mechanistic reasoning depends on the development of domain-specific principles and processes, it is important that these are taught and learned across K-12 education. Many researchers and educators (Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008;Coyle, Jamieson, & Oaks, 2005;Cunningham, 2009;Hynes et al., 2011;Lachapelle & Cunningham, 2014;Marshall & Berland, 2012;Moore et al., 2014;Moore, Tank, Glancy, & Kersten, 2015;Roehrig, Moore, Wang, & Park, 2012) have taken important steps toward reconceptualization learning within the STEM disciplines, across the grades. Their attempts to develop a program for K-12 STEM education align well with previous efforts to identify core engineering concepts, skills, and dispositions for K-12 education (Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards, 2011; National Academy of Engineering Committee on Standards in K-12 Engineering Education, 2010). ...
Mechanistic reasoning is an epistemic practice central within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Although there has been some work on mechanistic reasoning in the research literature and standards documents, much of this work targets domaingeneral characterizations of mechanistic reasoning; this study provides domain-specific illustrations of mechanistic reasoning. The data in this study comes from the Assessment of Mechanistic Reasoning Project (AMRP) (Weinberg, 2012), designed using item response theory modeling to diagnose individuals’ mechanistic reasoning about systems of levers. Such a characterization of mechanistic reasoning illuminates what is easy and difficult about this form of reasoning, within the subdomain of simple machines. Moreover, this work indicates how domain-general principles may be limited. The study participants included elementary, middle, and high school students as well as college undergraduates and adults without higher education. Although the majority of participants responded to the AMRP by diagnosing at least one mechanistic element (elements inherent to the working of systems of levers) as they predicted its motion, such reasoning was not trivial. In fact, the diverse reasoning by participants shows how systems of levers support elements of mechanistic reasoning. Moreover, this study provides evidence that the development of mechanistic reasoning is dependent on domainspecific experience.
... As reforms take hold in schools today, it is troubling that the fields of pre-college engineering education and engineering teacher education are evolving without a clearly articulated epistemic foundation (Donna, 2012;Marshall & Berland, 2012). While there exists a much longer history of mathematics and science teaching (and research on teaching), studying pre-college engineering in all schools and all grades is a relatively novel idea in the U.S. In a review of five major pre-college engineering programs, for example, Daugherty (2009) reveals that what proliferates in engineering education are curriculum driven models that focus on active engagement and collaborative learning (e.g., MSTP Project, 2003;PLTW, 2008). ...
While integrating engineering into science education is not new in the United States, technology and engineering have not been well emphasized in the preparation and professional development of science teachers. Recent science education reforms integrate science and engineering throughout K–12 education, making it imperative to explore the conceptions teachers hold of engineering as a discipline, and as an approach to teaching. This analysis draws on focus group interviews with practicing secondary teachers (n = 12) conducted during a professional development seminar. The goals of the seminar were to present engineering as a heterogeneity of practices and inquiries organized to solve human problems; and, to model design-build-test pedagogy as a new approach to teaching. Outcomes show teachers’ conceptions of engineering as a discipline are that it redefines failure as necessary for success, and that it can more directly link school learning to serving society. Teachers also anticipated that design-build-test pedagogy would disrupt procedural learning in science, and likely invert which students achieve and why. These outcomes are discussed in light of reform goals, particularly as regards issues of equity. Implications for science teacher educators are also discussed.
... Furthermore, this type of in-depth qualitative research is particularly needed as engineering educators develop policies and goals for K-12 design education (Rogers, Wendell, & Foster, 2010). As the community develops a vision for K-12 engineering education (Marshall & Berland, 2012), providing this type of thick description of students' designing will help develop productive goals for what engineering can look like in the classroom. Having a more complete and developed picture of what even young students can do will impact recommendations and expectations for engineering design education at all ages. ...
Problem scoping—determining the nature and boundaries of a problem—is an essential aspect of the engineering design process. Some studies from engineering education suggest that beginning students tend to skip problem scoping or oversimplify a problem. However, the ways these studies often characterize students’ problem scoping often do not reflect the complexity found in experts’ designing and rely on the number of criteria a student mentions or the time spent problem scoping. In this paper, we argue for methodological approaches that take into account not just what students name as criteria, but also how they weigh, balance, and choose between criteria and reflect on these decisions during complex tasks. Furthermore, we discuss that these problem-scoping actions should not be considered in isolation, but also how they are connected to the pursuit of a design solution. Using data from an elementary school classroom, we show how these ways of characterizing problem-scoping can capture rich beginnings of students’ engineering.
... Most authors agree that, currently, there is a lack of systemic infrastructure and support mechanisms for pre-engineering programs and that there is not a common, agreed-upon definition of a body of engineering knowledge that are appropriate at the pre-collegiate level (Chandler, et al. 2011). Marshall and Berland (2012) posited that the primary goal of any pre-collegiate engineering programs should be to develop a command of the engineering design process that transcends traditional mathematics and science curriculum goals. In a more multi-dimensional study, Moore, et al. (2014) proposed a framework and identified twelve key indicators for describing and designing effective K-12 engineering programs. ...
Given that fundamental materials science principles transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, a grand opportunity exists to leverage materials science concepts to facilitate multidisciplinary teaching and learning. This paper presents the development and implementation of a three-phase teaching module designed to foster organic, cross-disciplinary discourse and learning among pre-collegiate engineering students. Thirty domestic and international high school students were selected for an introductory four-week summer course in engineering. The students were divided into two classes, either civil engineering or nuclear engineering, according to their disciplinary preferences. In Phase I of the interdisciplinary module, the students were taught fundamental discipline-specific concepts in separate classrooms by their respective instructor (e.g., static equilibrium, nuclear reactor physics) over the course of one week. In Phase II, a joint lecture on diffusion, a materials science topic of mutual importance to both disciplines, was given to all students and facilitated by both instructors. In Phase III, the students worked in mixed, interdisciplinary teams in a structured problem-solving session in which they were asked to apply their knowledge of static equilibrium, diffusion, and nuclear principles to solve engineering design problems regarding reactor pressure vessels and radioactive waste casks. The effectiveness of this collaborative module in promoting cross-disciplinary learning was assessed through an analysis of student responses to an anonymous survey. The results show that the module was effective in (a) teaching students the fundamental principles of diffusion, (b) fostering peer-to-peer teaching and learning, and (c) emphasizing the importance of teamwork and problem-solving across disciplines. The results also indicate that students developed a broader view regarding the applicability of their knowledge beyond their own disciplinary boundaries. Given its universality, this materials-focused teaching module has the potential to serve as an effective model to foster interdisciplinary teaching and learning between other engineering disciplines.
... Educational researchers have argued that failing to consider the complexities of the learning context overstates the utility of experimental educational research; by contrast, design-based research takes an in vivo approach to producing plausible causal accounts within particular settings (Design-Based Research Collective, 2003;Johri & Olds, 2011). Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach in generating theoretical understanding of the impact of interventions in K-12 engineering education (for example, Chiu & Linn, 2011;Marshall & Berland, 2012). The complexity of the Beyond Blackboards program, including the format of the program; the particulars of the local context; the multiple university, industry, school-district, and student actors; and the curriculum itself make it well suited for a design-based research approach. ...
Beyond Blackboards is an inquiry-centered, after-school program designed to enhance middle school students' engagement with engineering through design-based experiences focused on the 21(st) Century Engineering Challenges. Set within a predominantly low-income, majority-minority community, our study aims to investigate the impact of Beyond Blackboards on students' interest in and understanding of engineering, as well as their ability to align their educational and career plans. We compare participants' and nonparticipants' questionnaire responses before the implementation and at the end of the program's first academic year. Statistically significant findings indicate a school-wide increase in students' interest in engineering careers, supporting a shift in school culture. However, only program participants showed increased enjoyment of design-based strategies, understanding of what engineers do, and awareness of the steps for preparing for an engineering career. These quantitative findings are supported by qualitative evidence from participant focus groups highlighting the importance of mentors in shaping students' awareness of opportunities within engineering.
The fast and quality dissemination of research breakthroughs via journals is essential to the researchers. Hence, this study analyzed the average duration for Civil Engineering journals based on the points allocations in Poland’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MEiN) list. A total of 30 journals were randomly selected and grouped based on the regional points allocation. The date of submission to the date of acceptance (SA) and the date of acceptance to the date of publication (SP) were extracted from 3557 articles. Version 26 IBM Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the average duration for the dataset. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used for the analysis of the relationship between the points allocation and the Scopus impact factors (IF), Web of Science impact factors (WoS IF), source normalized impact per paper (SNIP), SA, and SP. The results show that the average duration SA and SP for journals with 200, 140, and 100 points within the 5 years are 305.28, 285.25, 317.93 days, respectively, while for journals with 70, 40, and 20 points, the average duration is 180.50, 324.60, 206.41 days. Further analysis shows a statistically significant difference between the Scopus IF, WoS IF, SNIP, and allocated points. They indicate that these journal metrics affect journal categorization.
This study builds on research on the power of counter-stereotypical cues, as well as intergroup contact theory, to consider whether interactions with a female teacher and female peers in a high school engineering classroom decrease male students' gender/science, technology, engineering, and math stereotypical beliefs and whether this varies according to the initial strength of their stereotypical views. Analyses reveal that among male students who initially reject stereotypes of male superiority, more female peers in the classroom leads to a further decrease in their stereotypical views by the end of the year. In contrast, boys who held strong stereotypical beliefs became less stereotypical by the end of the course when they had a female teacher. Implications for future research and current educational reforms are discussed.
Popularization of high school engineering with multiple course options, varying teacher content expertise, and open-ended design-based courses requires maximally adaptive teachers. As researchers helping prepare these teachers, we conceptualize the competencies needed as Adaptive Expertise (AE), a balance between innovation and efficiency. Prior research shows that challenge-based instruction (CBI) courses increase engineering undergraduates' innovation and efficiency, developing AE, hence we used a cycle adapted for the design-based engineering course in our 6-week summer institute involving thirty-three experienced mathematics and science teachers. Teachers' adaptive beliefs about engineering and learning were measured before and after the institute. Pre- and posttests likewise measured teachers' innovation and efficiency relative to particular challenge units. From the results we conclude that design-based instruction (DBI) can improve teachers' AE in the space of one course.
In recent years, there has been a demand to teach engineering in high schools, particularly using a challenge-based curriculum. Many of these programs have the dual goals of teaching students the engineering design process (EDP), and teaching to deepen their understanding and ability to apply science and math concepts. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study examines whether a high school design engineering program accomplishes each of the two goals. During the 2010–2011 school year, over 100 students enrolled in the same design engineering course in seven high schools. Evidence of learning and application of the EDP is accomplished by triangulating student interviews with pre-/post-tests of EDP-related questions and a survey of design engineering beliefs. To determine whether students could apply science and math concepts, we examined content test questions to see if students used science and math ideas to justify their engineering work, and triangulated these results with student interviews. The results are mixed, implying that although there is some learning, application is inconsistent.
This article identifies a number of issues associated with current STEM education reform efforts, especially with regard to efforts to integrate engineering education into the K-12 curriculum. Precollege engineering is especially problematic in STEM reform since there is no well-established tradition of engineering in the K-12 curriculum. This discussion aims at identifying some of the issues and problems that serve to impede implementation of engineering education in the K-12 environment. Historically, engineering education has been the purview of higher education, and the epistemology of engineering education has not evolved to specifically inform the exigencies of K-12 education.
There also are little in the way of cohesive standards that establish appropriate precollege engineering knowledge and skills and provide a framework for shared understandings, cooperative partnerships across institutional boundaries, curricular development and implementation, and teacher preparation and professional development. The lack of standards and an epistemic foundation and tradition in K-12 engineering results in significant gaps in experience and knowledge to inform implementation, which is proceeding in schools despite these glaring obstacles, driven by legislative mandate, STEM funding initiatives, workforce demand, and other compelling forces. The lack of systemic infrastructure and support mechanisms for preengineering (such as are found in the sciences, mathematics, and other academic disciplines already participating in K-12 education) have resulted in a situation in which there is no clear, generally agreed upon standards and definition of a body of engineering knowledge, skills, and activities that constitute appropriate curricular content for teaching and learning in K-12 education.
The authors analyze national data on recent college matriculants to investigate gender and racial/ethnic disparities in STEM fields, with an eye toward the role of academic preparation and attitudes in shaping such disparities. Results indicate that physical science/engineering (PS/E) majors are dominated by men, but not, however, disproportionately by White men. After accounting for high school preparation, the odds of declaring a PS/E major are two times greater for Black males than for White males, and Black females are closer than White females to closing the gap with White males. The authors find virtually no evidence that math attitudes contribute to disparities in choice of a PS/E major. Finally, in contrast to PS/E fields, biological sciences draw relatively equitably from all groups.
Designers rely on each other as they design, yet most studies of design occur in isolation, such that a sequestered view of design expertise has emerged. This study takes as its unit of study in-situ student teams learning to design in a capstone bioengineering course. This research explores students' negotiation of their roles as designers in teams, and knowledge-learner interactions as the students become responsible for their own learning. Two cohorts of the design course are contrasted with implications for authentic design experiences highlighted. Because students are nested within teams, we analyze data using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, and find that students who completed a preliminary project in which they had to determine how to redesign a device had significantly higher gains than students who completed a more sequestered design task (t = 2.225, p < 0.05). Additionally, students give significantly higher scores to the design class in terms of Critical Voice (t = 3.515, p = 0.002) and Personal Relevance (t = 3.181, p = 0.003). Expert scoring of problem definitions and final designs show that, for Cohort One, final designs considered to be innovative were also viewed as efficient. For Cohort Two, early innovation corresponds innovative designs and early efficiency corresponds to efficient designs. Early efficiency does not at all correlate to innovative design. We also consider, in this on-going research, how differing interactions provoke different design experiences and consider intersections with innovative design. By allowing students to have voice by selecting a device to redesign, the students recognize the importance of customer needs. DESIGN EXPERTISE
The lack of diversity in the engineering workforce is a persistent
problem, with no signs of pending improvement. The situation continues
despite a serious technical workforce shortage in the United States.
Efforts to promote diversity in the student body in U.S. engineering
schools, such as industrial partnerships, academic services, and the
establishment of social networks, have produced modest gains. The
authors intend to pursue a distinctly different approach to the problem
of encouraging a diverse engineering student population, one that
focuses on the curriculum. This study reviews curricular innovations
attempted to date as a basis for rebuilding the undergraduate
engineering curriculum from the ground up. The goal is to produce a
curriculum that retains the salient technical material but enhances the
link between fundamentals and applications, reduces critical path
lengths in the course sequence, introduces team experiences into all
courses, and creates an atmosphere of inclusion rather than exclusion.
The new curriculum will require trial, assessment, and revision before
it is ready for adoption.
This case study of a teacher who engaged his students in inquiry within a technologically rich classroom was conducted over 5 weeks, including 15 regularly scheduled classes. Data include extensive teacher interviews, e-mail, and artifacts such as class notes, curriculum guides, and handouts. A retrospective analysis methodology was utilized to address what Barron et al. (1998), called the major hurdles in implementing project-based curricula: the simultaneous changes in curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. In addition, a framework developed by the National Research Councils How People Learn was employed to provide detail on the nature of knowledge, learner, assessment, and community centeredness of the project-based unit. Finally, the classroom environment created during a unit of astronomy was analyzed and five principles emerged: the sense of a project, the development of independent individuals, creation of a global community of learners, a cyclic nature of instruction emphasizing conceptual and procedural understanding, and the utilization of distributedexpertise.
We present results of an investigation of preservice secondary mathematics and science teachers’ conceptions of project-based
instruction (PBI) and their enactments of PBI in apprentice (student) teaching. We evaluated their thinking and implementations
within a composite framework based on the work of education researchers. We analyzed survey responses, both qualitatively
and statistically, from three cohorts of preservice teachers both before and after apprentice teaching. In addition we interviewed
and observed a subset of these future teachers. We found that in general the preservice teachers held superficial views of
PBI, as compared to the researcher framework. Participants reported time and curriculum restrictions as major barriers; however,
teachers for whom enactment of PBI was presented as an explicit goal, and who were given support toward that end, were more
likely to enact authentic implementations, regardless of previous reservations about PBI. Without this additional scaffolding,
even teachers with high affinity for PBI were unlikely to implement it authentically.
KeywordsProject based instruction-Preservice teachers-Teacher preparation-Project based learning
Public perception of engineering recognizes its importance to national and international competitiveness, economy, quality of life, security, and other fundamental areas of impact; but uncertainty about engineering among the general public remains. Federal funding trends for education underscore many of the concerns regarding teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects in primary through grade 12 (P-12) education. Conflicting perspectives on the essential attributes that comprise the engineering design process results in a lack of coherent criteria against which teachers and administrators can measure the validity of a resource, or assess its strengths and weaknesses, or grasp incongruities among competing process models. The literature suggests two basic approaches for representing engineering design: a phase-based, life cycle-oriented approach; and an activity-based, cognitive approach. Although these approaches serve various teaching and functional goals in undergraduate and graduate engineering education, as well as in practice, they tend to exacerbate the gaps in P-12 engineering efforts, where appropriate learning objectives that connect meaningfully to engineering are poorly articulated or understood. In this article, we examine some fundamental problems that must be resolved if preengineering is to enter the P-12 curriculum with meaningful standards and is to be connected through learning outcomes, shared understanding of engineering design, and other vestiges to vertically link P-12 engineering with higher education and the practice of engineering. We also examine historical aspects, various pedagogies, and current issues pertaining to undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. As a case study, we hope to shed light on various kinds of interventions and outreach efforts to inform these efforts or at least provide some insight into major factors that shape and define the environment and cultures of the two institutions (including epistemic perspectives, institutional objectives, and political constraints) that are very different and can compromise collaborative efforts between the institutions of P-12 and higher education.
Using grounded theory as an example, this paper examines three methodological questions that are generally applicable to all qualitative methods. How should the usual scientific canons be reinterpreted for qualitative research? How should researchers report the procedures and canons used in their research? What evaluative criteria should be used in judging the research products? The basic argument we propose is that the criteria should be adapted to fit the procedures of the method. We demonstrate how we have done this with grounded theory and suggest criteria for evaluating studies done in this mode. We suggest that other qualitative researchers might be similarly specific about their procedures and evaluative criteria.
A bstract
The United States has historically excelled in the design of products, processes and new technologies. Capitalizing on this historical strength to teach applied mathematics and science has many positive implications on education. First, engineering design can be used as a vehicle for addressing deficiencies in mathematics and science education. Second, as achievement in mathematics and science is enhanced, a greater number of students at an earlier age will be exposed to technical career opportunities. Third, enhancing elementary and secondary curricula with engineering design can attract underrepresented populations, such as minorities and females, to engineering as a profession. This paper describes a new and innovative engineering design curriculum, under development in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Austin, TX. The philosophic goals upon which the curriculum is based include: integrating the design problem‐solving process into elementary schools, demonstrating the relationship of technical concepts to daily life, availing teachers with instructional strategies for teaching applied (as opposed to purely theoretical) science and mathematics, and teaching teamwork skills that are so greatly needed in industry and everyday life. Based on these goals, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade engineering design lessons have been piloted in AISD, in conjunction with a University of Texas program for teacher enhancement and preparation.
This paper describes the design, development, implementation, and assessment of a multimedia-based learning module focused on biomechanics. The module is comprised of three challenges and is based on a model of learning and instruction known as the How People Learn (HPL) framework. Classroom assessment of the first challenge was undertaken to test the hypothesis that the HPL approach increases adaptive expertise in movement biomechanics. Student achievement was quantified using pre- and post-test questionnaires designed to measure changes in three facets of adaptive expertise: factual and conceptual knowledge and transfer. The results showed that the HPL approach increased students' conceptual knowledge as well as their ability to transfer knowledge to new situations. These findings indicate that challenge-based instruction, when combined with an intellectually engaging curriculum and principled instructional design, can accelerate the trajectory of novice to expert development in bioengineering education.
This is a retrospective reflection. Having worked with STEM (National Science Foundation lingo for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education teachers, primarily at the secondary and postsecondary levels, since the 1980s, I discuss some of the major lessons I have learned, namely, the evolution of teaching gender equity in the past thirty years, where we are now, why educators resist gender equity, what we still do not know about gender equity in education, what seems to work to reach teachers, and how to increase our progress.
Mathematical puzzles have long been employed by parents and teachers to augment the standard mathematics curriculum. This paper reports on a study of urban elementary students engaged in the solution of mathematical puzzles. The work confirms that, given the opportunity, these students will construct their own, logically consistent, interpretations of the puzzle clues. In particular, these students used self-generated rules about alignment and orientation to construct meaning in ambiguous clues. Such exercises in logic bring to light the value of student approaches to problem solving, and the possibility of using these approaches as building blocks from which students might construct knowledge in the standard curriculum.
In the last several decades the image of the leaky pipeline has become
commonplace as a metaphor for the loss of women and minorities to the
physics enterprise at every stage, from high school to the most advanced
positions in academia. At the 2007 Winter AAPT meeting in Seattle,
however, the AAPT Committee on Women in Physics sponsored a session
highlighting women whose careers in physics are not faithfully
represented by the pipeline model, pointing to a flaw in this way of
representing women's career trajectories.
In this study, we used a design context for developing children's understanding of the natural world via the designing, building, testing, and evaluation of models. In this instance, we asked children to design models of the human elbow. Children's models were then used as the basis for an exploration of the biomechanics of the human arm. The investigation of biomechanical principles is a major extension of our earlier research. By building on children's design-based models, we were able to engage students in an investigation of the relation between force and the location of the attachment point of the biceps. In so doing, we were able to provide children with opportunities to develop their understanding of the relations between mathematics and science through the construction and interpretation of data tables and graphs.
Argues that most gender-related educational reforms will not foster the social and scientific transformations envisioned by feminist science scholars. Calls for a reconceptualization of science education that includes knowledge of the physical world along with an understanding of the biases and cultural, social, and political contexts of Western science. Describes an educational project that incorporates this reconceptualization. Contains 57 references. (Author/WRM)
This paper presents the results of a study comparing student learning in an inquiry-based and a traditional course in biotransport. Collaborating learning scientists and biomedical engineers designed and implemented an inquiry-based method of instruction that followed learning principles presented in the National Research Council report "How People Learn" (HPL). In this study, the intervention group was taught a core biomedical engineering course in biotransport following the HPL method. The control group was taught by traditional didactic lecture methods. A primary objective of the study was to identify instructional methods that facilitate the early development of adaptive expertise (AE). AE requires a combination of two types of engineering skills: subject knowledge and the ability to think innovatively in new contexts. Therefore, student learning in biotransport was measured in two dimensions: A pre and posttest measured knowledge acquisition in the domain and development of innovative problem-solving abilities. HPL and traditional students' test scores were compared. Results show that HPL and traditional students made equivalent knowledge gains, but that HPL students demonstrated significantly greater improvement in innovative thinking abilities. We discuss these results in terms of their implications for improving undergraduate engineering education.
Draft standards for engineering, technology and the applications of science
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Teaching science for social justice
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An optics design challenge tying preservice teachers to physics classrooms
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Changing the conversation: Messages for improving public understanding of engineering
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