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Talking Engineering: Students’ Translanguaging in Engineering Education

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 2

Tagged Division

Minorities in Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--31042

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/31042

Download Count

471

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Paper Authors

biography

Greses Perez Stanford University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-4737-0888

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Greses A. Pérez is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education with a focus on Science Education. Before coming to Stanford, Greses was a bilingual math and science educator at public elementary schools in Texas, where she served in the Gifted and Talented Advisory District Committee and the Elementary Curriculum Design team. As a science mentor at the Perot Museum, Greses locally supported the development of teachers by facilitating workshops and creating science classroom kits. She taught in bilingual, Montessori and university classrooms in Texas and in Dominican Republic, her birth country. She earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) and a M.Eng. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) as well as a M.Ed. degree in School Leadership from Southern Methodist University (SMU). Her current research interests are located at the intersection of science and engineering education, multilingualism and emerging technologies. She is interested in the teaching and learning of engineering in the science classroom and the opportunities to create a language-rich environment for multilingual learners in this context. Prior to starting her career in education, Greses was a project manager for engineering projects and hydrologic and hydraulic studies.

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Abstract

Talking Engineering: Students’ translanguaging in engineering education

Abstract

With the integration of engineering education in the K–12th classroom, students are expected to be competent in the practices of engineering design. From the body of students in the elementary and secondary education system, bilinguals and speakers of languages other than English are one of the fastest growing populations among school children. For them, language represents not only a powerful tool to communicate ideas, but also a critical factor to construct knowledge. In order to best meet the needs of those students, we need to understand the ways bilinguals use language in the context of engineering. This lecture addresses the linguistic patterns of Hispanic fluent functional bilinguals, students who communicate effectively in English and Spanish, in the context of engineering. It also explores the possible affordances embedded in the engineering practices for language learning. Preliminary results suggest the relevant role of language in engineering engagement and the prevalence of hegemonic views of language during the task.

Keywords: bilingual/bicultural; language; science education; engineering education; minorities in engineering

Perez, G. (2018, June), Talking Engineering: Students’ Translanguaging in Engineering Education Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31042

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