Building Capacity for Teaching Engineering in K-12 Education (2020) / Chapter Skim
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7 Conclusions and Recommendations
7 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 215-226
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From page 215... ...
In addition, the different goals for K–12 engineering education suggest different levels and types of preparation for many K–12 teachers of engineering. (As a reminder, the committee is using the term "teacher of engineering" to refer to any elementary or subject-matter secondary teacher who spends some portion of the school day providing engineering instruction.)
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From page 216... ...
CONTEXT FOR THE PREPARATION OF K–12 TEACHERS OF ENGINEERING Many factors are contributing to an expanded focus on engineering in K–12 STEM education in the United States. These include widespread calls for a STEM-literate workforce; concerns about the country's international competitiveness; the growing presence of K–12 STEM curricula that incorporate engineering concepts and practices; and the availability and adoption by states of K–12 standards with engineering learning goals for students.
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From page 217... ...
The survey is also unlikely to count secondary science teachers who are introducing their students to engineering design projects in keeping with the Framework for K–12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards, as well as elementary teachers who tend to be subject-matter generalists. Given the nascent state of K–12 engineering education in the United States, the vast majority of teachers of engineering are likely to be teaching engineering less than full-time.
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From page 218... ...
RECOMMENDATON 2: To begin to address the systemic lack of capacity to prepare preservice K–12 teachers of engineering, federal agencies, such as the Department of Education and National Science Foundation, and private foundations with an interest in STEM edu cation, should convene a collaborative dialogue among K–12 STEM educators, leaders at organizations involved in the preparation of K–12 STEM educators, colleges of education, colleges of engineering and engineering technology, postsecondary science departments, K–12 teacher accrediting bodies, state departments of education, and technology-focused industry. The goal should be to identify p racticable steps that the stakeholders and others can take to address the capacity issue.
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From page 219... ...
PREPARING K–12 TEACHERS OF ENGINEERING The goals of K–12 engineering education vary, and this variation has implications for the preparation of educators. A basic understanding of e ngineering -- engineering literacy -- is important for all K–12 teachers of engineering and should include both subject-matter knowledge and e ngineering-specific pedagogical content knowledge.
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From page 220... ...
RECOMMENDATION 6: Programs that prepare preservice K–12 science educators or provide professional learning to in-service sci ence teachers need to address the call in the Framework and NGSS for students to connect their science learning to engineering ideas and practices. To this end, the Association for Science Teacher Education, National Science Teaching Association, and American Society for Engineering Education should work together to assist these programs in identifying and implementing actions that will fulfill the engineer ing components of the new vision for K–12 science education.
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From page 221... ...
RECOMMENDATION 7: Postsecondary engineering and engineering technology programs should partner with schools/colleges of educa tion to design and implement curriculum for the preparation of K–12 teachers of engineering. Such efforts should be conducted in consulta tion with teacher professional organizations that have a stake in K–12 engineering, such as the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association and National Science Teaching Association, as well as the American Society for Engineering Education.
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From page 222... ...
When possible, such partnerships should leverage the expertise of teacher leaders in K–12 engineering education. Invest ments by these stakeholders should be allocated and used in ways that are consistent with findings from education, social science, and learning sciences research as well as the guidance provided by relevant policy documents.
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From page 223... ...
To the extent practicable, the efforts should take advantage of methods, such as design research, that encourage collaboration with stakeholders and existing reform efforts. Pressing issues include: • Describe the subject-matter content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge required for high-quality K–12 engineering education and how this knowledge varies across grade levels.
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From page 224... ...
As this report points out, there are almost no post econdary s programs educating prospective K–12 teachers of engineering, and state mechanisms for recognizing prospective teachers' engineering knowledge, where they exist, vary widely. There are a number of K–12 engineering professional learning initiatives in the United States, some of which have reached considerable scale.
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From page 225... ...
If this report can do one thing, we hope it will be to alert constituencies with a stake in US STEM education to the mismatch between the need for engineering-literate K–12 teachers and the education system's lack of capacity to meet this need. The situation is far from hopeless, but meaningful improvement will require action on multiple fronts, as this chapter proposes.
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