Engineering in K-12 Education Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects (2009) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Case for K–12 Engineering Education
3 The Case for K–12 Engineering Education
Pages 49-70
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From page 49... ...
THE BENEFITS OF K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION The potential benefits to students of including engineering education in K–12 schools can be grouped into five areas: improved learning and achievement in science and mathematics; increased awareness of engineering and the work of engineers; understanding of and the ability to engage in engineering design; 49
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Boston Museum of Science http://www.mos.org/eie/index.php interest in pursuing engineering as a career; and increased technological literacy. Although only a small percentage of students has had an opportunity to study engineering in elementary and secondary schools in the United States, a number of curricula for teaching engineering have been developed -- many of which are described in Chapter 4.
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In theory, if students are taught science and mathematics concepts and skills while solving engineering or engineering-like problems, they will be able to grasp these concepts and learn these skills more easily and retain them better, because the engineering design approach can provide real-world context to what are otherwise very abstract concepts. Preliminary evidence supports this theory.
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. In 2007, the Department of Education published a review of all feder ally funded programs with a math or science education focus, looking at their effectiveness and at ways to integrate and coordinate them.
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curriculum project, participating students and non-IMaST students had similar gains on state mathematics and science achievement tests, but IMaST students scored higher on TIMSS math items than students in a control group (Satchwell and Loepp, 2002)
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The schools that discontinued the program found that mathematics scores fell. Qualitative research in the learning sciences provides some insights into how and why science and mathematics learning may be impacted by participation in engineering activities, particularly design activities.
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Conversely, a lack of awareness of engineering and misconceptions or ignorance about what engineers do can be detrimental to a society. On a practical level, young people who believe engineers drive trains or repair car engines or who have negative stereotypes of the profession are unlikely ever to consider studying engineering or pursuing it as a career.
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. Teachers, too, may be more aware of engineering career options after leading engineering design activities with students (McGrath et al., 2008)
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In this section, we consider the evidence related to how well students learn to understand and engage in engineering design. Data from a number of studies suggest that engineering design as practiced by engineers is neither quickly learned by students nor easily taught by teachers.
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For instance, in an engineering enrichment program for gifted students, participants completed small design projects as part of reaching a larger design goal (Bayles et al., 2007)
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reported that attendance increased for a group of inner-city high school science students (largely from low-SES ethnic minorities) who were randomly assigned to classes in which the major focus was on engineering design projects, compared to their peers who were taught the standard science curriculum.
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. A technologically literate person understands the essential characteristics of technology and how it influences society and the factors that shape technology, including engineering.
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published Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology, which accelerated an ongoing shift in the field of technology education away from its beginnings in industrial arts toward an emphasis on a broad understanding of the concept of technology. The standards in the ITEA document, developed with input from the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council, include benchmarks related to engineering design (Box 3-3)
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The committee found that none of these instruments was completely adequate for measuring technological literacy and that only two explicitly targeted engineering learning; one was developed for students in "The Infinity Project," and the other was an achievement test for fifth, eighth, and tenth graders in Massachusetts. Interest on the national level in the technological literacy of K–12 students and improvements in measuring instruments, such as assessments, may increase in coming years.
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This can be a serious problem, because a goal of many of these programs is to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in engineering classes and ultimately in engineering practice. When data on K–12 engineering education initiatives are collected, they often indicate only if participants enjoyed the program and include selfreported changes.
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Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, June 22–25, 2003. Available online at http:// soa.asee.org/paper/conference/paper-view.cfm?
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2005. Project-Based Learning Design Projects for Introduction to Engineering Design Courses.
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Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, Oregon, June 12–15, 2005. Available online at http://soa.asee.org/paper/ conference/paper-view.cfm?
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Paper presented at the Ameri can Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 24–27, 2007. Available online at http://soa.asee.org/paper/conference/ paper-view.cfm?
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Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Engineering Education, San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 27–July 1, 2006. Available online at http://www.icee.usm.edu/icee/conferences/icee2006/papers/3603.pdf (accessed January 16, 2009)
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Paper presented at the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 24–27, 2007. Available online at http://www.pltw.org/pdfs/AnnualReport 2007-Public-Release.pdf (accessed January 16, 2009)
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