Changes in Elementary Students’ Engineering Knowledge Over Two Years of Integrated Science Instruction (Research to Practice)

Tafur-Arciniegas, Mariana; Douglas, Kerrie A.; Diefes‐Dux, Heidi A.

doi:10.18260/1-2--20161

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The Design Process Knowledge Task, a featured project of the Institute for P‐12 Engineering Research and Learning (INSPIRE), presents children with a simplified design process and asks them to write about the process's strengths and weaknesses (Cardella, Hsu, & Ricco, ). Other written assessment items used by INSPIRE track elementary students' knowledge about the engineering design process and their conceptualizations of technology and the work of engineers over two years of exposure to Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum units (Tafur, Douglas, & Diefes‐Dux ). EiE curriculum efficacy studies have used assessments of both engineering and science concepts (Lachapelle & Cunningham, ; Lachapelle, Oh, Shams, Hertel, & Cunningham, ).…”

Section: Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflective Decision‐Making in Elementary Students' Engineering Design

Wendell

Wright

Paugh

2017

J of Engineering Edu

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Background A key feature of engineering design is collaborative, deliberate decision making that takes into account information about design options. K-12 students need opportunities for this kind of decision making if they are to meet the learning standards for engineering set out in the Next Generation Science Standards.Purpose This qualitative study sought to propose and operationalize a definition of reflective decision-making among elementary students. We investigated how urban elementary students enact reflective decision-making in a formal engineering design curriculum. MethodWe used naturalistic inquiry methodology and video recorded seven Engineering is Elementary design challenges in four classrooms. Students worked in small teams, and we focused on their planning and redesign phases. Maximum variation sampling, constant comparative analysis, and microethnographic accounts demonstrated the diversity of resources students utilized in their decision making. ResultsIn student discourse, we found evidence for six reflective decision-making elements: articulating multiple solutions, evaluating pros and cons, intentionally selecting a solution, retelling the performance of a solution, analyzing a solution according to evidence, and purposefully choosing improvements. The discourse patterns used to enact these elements both supported and interfered with students' achievement of design goals.Conclusions Our results suggest that during engineering design tasks, young learners working in small teams can respond productively to opportunities to engage in sophisticated discourse. However, further work is needed on tools and strategies that support reflective decision-making by all students during engineering design in elementary school.

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Section: Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflective Decision‐Making in Elementary Students' Engineering Design

Wendell

Wright

Paugh

2017

J of Engineering Edu

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“…Understanding this, further investigation into the elements that shape student interest and engagement in engineering and other STEM disciplines at younger ages may provide insights for strengthening the STEM discipline pipeline. Several efforts have begun to identify various manifestations of engineering interest during elementary school, but are often focused specifically on students' understanding of particular design processes, tools, or technology [24] - [26]. Dougherty and colleagues [21] also identified elementary years as a critical period in child development in which interest is more flexible and provides greater opportunities for motivating engagement with various STEM and engineering concepts.…”

Section: Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Child Creative Habits of Mind in an Out-of-School Engineering Program

Knox,

Werfelli,

Simpson

2022 ASEE St. Lawrence Section Annual Conference Proceedings

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Fostering creativity in schools is challenging due to preexisting academic structures, assessment metrics, and curriculum standards. This challenge requires looking beyond schools and traditional curriculum to out-of-school contexts and programs that may encourage what have been identified as 'creative habits of mind'. Within the field of engineering, creativity has been identified as a core component. As such, understanding what creative habits of mind may be fostered through participation in out-of-school engineering experiences is important to garnering engagement and investment in the discipline. This study explored the emergence of children's creative habits of mind through participation in an out-of-school home-based engineering program. Specifically, we sought to answer the research question: What creative habits of mind emerge through child reflections of their experience in an out-of-school engineering program? Data was derived from post-program interviews with children from 15 diverse families who participated in the program. Transcripts were analyzed using a priori coding based upon the Centre for Real-World Learning (CRWL) Model of Creative Habits of Mind. The prevalence of various creative habits of mind encouraged through participation were identified. Imaginative, inquisitive, and disciplined creative habits of mind emerge in the findings as the most prevalent creative thinking processes, with concepts including playing with possibilities, exploring and investigating, and reflecting critically playing a prominent role in children's perceptions of their experiences. This is significant in that it demonstrates a development in creative, independent thinking in children and a fostering of curiosity, imagination, and problem solving through selfreflection that is inherent and critical to the field of engineering.

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Factors Influential to Fourth Graders' Engineering Learning and Identity Development

Douglas¹,

Yoon²,

Tafur-Arciniegas³

et al.

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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is a post-doctoral research associate at Texas A&M University. She received her Ph.D. and M.S.Ed.in Educational Psychology with the specialties in Gifted Education and Research Methods & Measurement, respectively from Purdue University. Her work centers on P-16 engineering education research, as a psychometrician, program evaluator, and institutional data analyst. As a psychometrician, she revised the PSVT:R for secondary and undergraduate students, developed the TESS (Teaching Engineering Self-efficacy Scale) for K-12 teachers, and rescaled the SASI (Student Attitudinal Success Inventory) for engineering students. As a program evaluator, she has evaluated the effects of teacher professional development (TPD) programs on K-6 teachers' and elementary students' attitudes toward engineering and STEM knowledge. As an institutional data analyst, she is investigating engineering students' pathways to their success, exploring subgroup variations. Mariana Tafur, Purdue University, West LafayetteMariana Tafur is a Ph.D. candidate and a graduate assistant in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She has a M.S., in Education at Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia; and a B.S., in Electrical Engineering at Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia. She is a 2010 Fulbright Fellow. Her research interests include engineering skills development, STEM for non-engineers adults, motivation in STEM to close the technology literacy gap, STEM formative assessment, and Mixed-Methods design.Prof. Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette Heidi A. Diefes-Dux is a Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University. She is a member of Purdue's Teaching Academy. Since 1999, she has been a faculty member within the FirstYear Engineering Program, teaching and guiding the design of one of the required first-year engineering courses that engages students in open-ended problem solving and design. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modeling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts. She is currently a member of the educational team for the Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN).

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Changes in Elementary Students’ Engineering Knowledge Over Two Years of Integrated Science Instruction (Research to Practice)

Cited by 3 publications

References 13 publications

Reflective Decision‐Making in Elementary Students' Engineering Design

Reflective Decision‐Making in Elementary Students' Engineering Design

Exploring Child Creative Habits of Mind in an Out-of-School Engineering Program

Factors Influential to Fourth Graders' Engineering Learning and Identity Development

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