Two elementary schools’ developing potential for sustainability of engineering education

Douglas, Kerrie A.; Rynearson, Anastasia Marie; Yoon, So Yoon; Diefes‐Dux, Heidi A.

doi:10.1007/s10798-015-9313-4

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…They reported that the majority of the school day was devoted to mathematics and reading due to associated mandated testing in those areas, and science was often only incorporated into reading time or was completely left out. Similar findings have been reported pertaining to teaching engineering (Douglas et al, ) and inquiry science (Blanchard et al, ; Santau & Ritter, ). Lack of time for planning was another common barrier.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…After evaluating lesson plans from 42 K-12 teachers in Idaho, Nadelson, Sias, and Seifert (2016) reported teachers are likely to have a constrained view of engineering and lack the knowledge and skills needed to implement the innovative pedagogical methods associated with teaching engineering at the K-12 level. Further, elementary teachers from two schools in south-central United States who participated in a case study conducted by Douglas, Rynearson, Yoon, and Diefes-Dux (2016) indicated constraints on instructional time and administrator focus on standardized testing were barriers to implementing engineering activities in the classroom.…”

Section: Barriers To Teaching K-5 Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elementary teachers' perceptions of K‐5 engineering education and perceived barriers to implementation

Hammack

Ivey

2019

J of Engineering Edu

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Background The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for the integration of engineering content and practices in elementary science curricula, yet little is known about elementary teachers' preparedness to do so or their views on teaching engineering. Purpose/Hypothesis The purpose of the current study was to explore K‐5 teachers' perceptions about incorporating engineering in their classrooms as well as the perceived barriers for doing so. Design/Method This study consisted of an online survey including a mix of selected response, Likert, and short answer items, followed by individual interviews and focus group sessions with a subset of survey participants. Descriptive statistics are reported for quantitative survey data. Open‐ended survey questions as well as interview and focus group transcripts were inductively coded to identify emergent themes. Results Many elementary teachers support the inclusion of engineering in the science standards for elementary grades. Teachers describe a lack of preservice and in‐service training, background knowledge, materials, time for planning and implementing lessons, and administrative support as barriers to implementing engineering activities within their classrooms. Conclusion While many elementary teachers support the use of engineering activities in their classrooms, there are numerous barriers preventing them from doing so. To ensure that NGSS are incorporated into elementary classrooms as they were intended, elementary teachers must be provided with the necessary training, resources, and support.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Barriers To Teaching K-5 Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elementary teachers' perceptions of K‐5 engineering education and perceived barriers to implementation

Hammack

Ivey

2019

J of Engineering Edu

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“…This movement built a foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) that formally emphasized these science and engineering practices in K-12 science education. At the same time, the nascent K-12 engineering education movement has spurred research on engineering's influence on core content instruction (Nathan, Oliver, Prevost, Tran, & Phelps, 2009) and the implications for teacher professional development (Douglas, Rynearson, Yoon, & Diefes-Dux, 2015). What has been less studied is how this engineering and STEM education movement in the K-12 instructional space has influenced students' attitudes about these STEM and engineering practices, core STEM academic subjects, and their interest in future STEM careers that use this skill set.…”

Section: Twenty-first Century Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship of STEM Attitudes and Career Interest

Wiebe

Unfried

Faber³

2018

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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This study examines the relationships between attitudes toward all core STEM subjects and interest in STEM careers among 4th through 12th grade US students through the administration of the Student Attitudes toward STEM (S-STEM) Survey to over 15,000 public school students. The research developed a model based on expectancy-value theory that incorporates key demographic factors of age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Our findings reinforce prior research that students across key demographic factors perceive biological/clinical and physical science career paths differently, resulting in two career clusters. Of interest, the relationship of mathematics attitudes to career interest varied by STEM career cluster. Findings were also supportive of the conclusion that students' attitudes towards STEM careers are not static over their primary and secondary grades, stabilizing and leveling during their secondary years. Gender showed significantly different interest levels for the two career clusters: males higher for physical sciences and females higher for biological/clinical sciences. Racial/ethnic disparity in STEM career interests can be seen more readily in physical sciences and engineering than in the biological sciences. Overall, our work reinforces findings that students, as young as elementary grades, are forming attitudinal associations between their academic and life experience and future STEM careers.

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“…Though teaching engineering design at the elementary school level is relatively new, a growing number of researchers have conducted studies on design pedagogies and ensuing challenges faced by elementary school teachers (Boots, ; Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, ; Capobianco, , ; Capobianco, Lehman, & Kelley, ; Cunningham, ; Douglas, Rynearson, Yoon, & Diefes‐Dux, ; Lehman, Kim, & Harris, ; Sun & Strobel, ; Wendell & Rogers, ; Yoon, Diefes‐Dux, & Strobel, ). When implemented effectively, engineering design‐based science teaching has led to enhanced student problem‐solving skills (Wendell & Lee, ), increased academic achievement in science and mathematics (Macalalag et al., ; Wendell & Rogers, ), and positive attitudes toward STEM (Guzey, Harwell, & Moore, ).…”

Section: Engineering Design In the Elementary Science Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing elementary teachers’ enactment of high‐leverage practices through engineering design‐based science instruction

2017

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In an effort to document teachers' enactments of new reform in science teaching, valid and scalable measures of science teaching using engineering design are needed. This study describes the development and testing of an approach for documenting and characterizing elementary science teachers' multiday enactments of engineering design-based science teaching. Using the tenets of ambitious teaching, we explore how Grade 4 teachers utilized elements of high-leverage practices in an effort to teach science using engineering design. Data included 33 hours of classroom observations, semistructured interviews, and teacher reflections. Using lesson event, classroom organization, and instructional codes analogous to the literature on the engineering design process, we generated and analyzed classroom event maps, noting trends across multiple and individual teacher classrooms. Results indicated percentages of time spent on different phases within the design process among multiple classrooms as well as consistency across individual cases that demonstrate teachers' capacity to enact ambitious teaching practices through engineering design-based science instruction. Implications suggest that our approach provides a useful method to not only document and characterize engineering design-based science teaching practices but also reveals complexities of leveraging student thinking through ambitious engineering teaching practices.

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Two elementary schools’ developing potential for sustainability of engineering education

Cited by 19 publications

References 20 publications

Elementary teachers' perceptions of K‐5 engineering education and perceived barriers to implementation

Elementary teachers' perceptions of K‐5 engineering education and perceived barriers to implementation

The Relationship of STEM Attitudes and Career Interest

Characterizing elementary teachers’ enactment of high‐leverage practices through engineering design‐based science instruction

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