Engineering Thinking in Prekindergarten Children: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Background Children begin foundational learning in early childhood that sets the stage for later learning and academic success. Research regarding engineering in early childhood is limited yet growing.Purpose Because interest in engineering in early childhood is growing, this article reviews research regarding interactions, materials, and activities that promote prekindergarten children's engineering thinking, and in turn how this engineering thinking is related to developmental outcomes. Scope/MethodThe initial search for papers with relevant keywords returned over 2,000 papers. Upon review, 27 papers pertained to children age five or under and to engineering. The following research questions were addressed: What (a) interactions and (b) materials and activities promote prekindergarten children's engineering thinking? What developmental outcomes are related to children's engineering thinking?Conclusions The small body of research regarding engineering thinking in prekindergarten children only allows for a few limited conclusions. Specifically, results indicate that children display engineering thinking when actively engaged with materials, adults are better able to facilitate engineering thinking if they have received some guidance on both engineering principles and asking children questions, and children's engineering thinking can promote early math skills and possibly social and emotional development. However, a consistent limitation in the literature is that measures are underdeveloped and their psychometric properties are often unestablished.

Preschool Children’s Science Motivation and Process Skills during Inquiry-Based STEM Activities

“…STEM is an educational practice to integrate science, mathematics, engineering, and technology within formal and informal context and it provides practical opportunities for the child to make sense of the world holistically (Lantz, 2009;Marcus, Haden & Uttal, 2017;Marcus, Haden & Uttal, 2018). Moreover, the most important benefit of STEM activities for children, including engineering design, is to improve or support children's science and mathematics skills and social-emotional development (Katehi, et al 2009b;Lippard et al, 2017). In recent years, thus, early STEM education has been a remarkable subject for researchers in Turkey and they have obtained various findings from their studies.…”

Engineering play with blocks as an informal learning context for executive function and planning

“…Although the engineering design process model has been used extensively in secondary and postsecondary engineering education, its application in early childhood contexts remains limited. Lippard et al (2017) identified and reviewed only 27 studies related to engineering thinking in preschool. The majority of these studies measured a construct theoretically related to engineering, without directly measuring engineering (e.g., associations of spatial ability and mathematics with block building; Verdine et al, 2014;Wolfgang et al, 2001) or studied engineering thinking in less-traditional play contexts such as robotics, often with school-age children (e.g., Bers, 2007).…”

“…The majority of these studies measured a construct theoretically related to engineering, without directly measuring engineering (e.g., associations of spatial ability and mathematics with block building; Verdine et al, 2014;Wolfgang et al, 2001) or studied engineering thinking in less-traditional play contexts such as robotics, often with school-age children (e.g., Bers, 2007). Moreover, many of these studies discussed implications of preschool-age engineering skills using theory and related developmental constructs as proxies (Lippard et al, 2017). Clearly, there is a need to directly measure engineering thinking and behavior among preschool-age children.…”

“…Research on preschool children's engineering thinking is limited. Only a few studies have examined the engineering construct in preschool, and few used quantitative analysis and systematic measurement in typical preschool education settings (Lippard et al, 2017). Additionally, despite clear theoretical and practical implications for learning and teaching engineering in preschool settings, virtually no research has evaluated interdisciplinary connections among preschool engineering education, cognitive psychology, and other early childhood fields in which the engineering construct may be valuable Gold et al, 2021).…”

Unpacking the Engineering Process: Resourcing Trade Books and Biographies

“…This type of thinking is "goal-oriented thinking that addresses problems and decisions within given constraints by drawing on available resources, both material resources and human capital." 1 Thinking like an engineer, making, and tinkering are all part of engineering design-based learning.…”