LearningIntroductionThis paper describes a case-based, mixed-methods study of how K-12 teachers support andscaffold student learning in a Problem-based Learning (PBL) engineering lesson. The studyexamined how K-12 engineering teachers planned to support student learning using scaffolding,how they implemented scaffolds during PBL engineering activities, and how they reflected upontheir PBL engineering lesson implementation.PBL in engineering educationEngineering practice and other design-focused fields involve solving complex problems, often incollaborative teams. Generally, these engineering problems do not have a single solution andrequire multifaceted skillsets from many domains. However, engineering students often findthemselves unprepared to manage messy
designs fail the test; groups testing iterate and continue testing, trying to improve their designs. Day 7: What can we learn by looking across all our design attempts? Reflection Groups reflect on their design attempts; teacher facilitates a whole class discussion comparing across designs. Day 8: How do engineers share their ideas through speaking and writing? Design Groups share their designs and design process with other students and members of the conference school and greater community. DESIGN BRIEF Goal: Design, build, test, and iterate on a retaining structure that keeps sand away from the model train tracks, allows the sand to support the weight of a model building, and stays up when
learned how to sketch basic process flowsheets, made bath bombs (soap fizzies) [9, 11],measured their lung capacity after blowing bubbles from soap solutions, calculated their carbonfootprint and were asked to reflect on a cow’s breath as well as an industrial plant and theenvironmental effects of energy use for bioplastic manufacturing.Given the relevance and scope of the plastics crisis, we spent the majority of the class exploringhow plastics contribute to waste and what strategies exist to alleviate this problem. Studentslearned how bioplastics are made from renewable biomass such as vegetable fats, oils, corn-starch,milk and other bio resources. They explored biodegradability and what components in cornstarchand milk could make effective
often team-based and develops based on peer, colleague, and client feedback.attempted to address in this study. This is a validation study of an open-ended questionnaire, theViews about the Nature of Engineering Knowledge (VNOEK) Questionnaire, which was Elements of this framework reflect other NOE descriptions in the literature [9] [14] and it is alsodesigned to gather K-16 teachers’ views about the NOEK. The questionnaire was created as part supportive of those other articulations. However, it is not identical, and we needed an instrumentof
result of its inclusionand elevated importance in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) [1]. Within thenascent field of pre-college engineering education, the ways in which elementary engineeringexperiences may support the formation of engineering identities in young children are not wellunderstood [2]. What is known about formative experiences in engineering is that participationtends to be gendered [3], with girls and boys engaging in and reflecting on engineering activitiesin different ways. This paper focuses on identity, as developing a strong engineering identity, orsense of belonging in engineering, is essential to pursuing and persisting in the field.Participation in engineering outreach programs is widely seen as an opportunity
grades of zero (i.e., incomplete assignments, D), misseddays of classroom instruction (E), and missed days of Discovery (F) by student between schools.N=77 and 53 for Schools A and B, respectively. P-values reflect nonparametric U-tests between schools.Aggregate assessment of classroom performance from both schools presented consistent meanfinal course grades (excluding the 10-15% Discovery portion) of 67% (Figure 2A); given thissimilarity it was determined that further comparative analysis between school cohorts wasjustified. However, performance on Discovery variables was significantly different (p < 0.0001)between school cohorts; School A students averaged 67% (remarkably consistent to their
solved the problem of lack of housing in earthquake affected areas” or “Caroline did a great job ensuring that light would still be able to reach inside the Ecobrick house”, etc. ● Closure: Have students complete an exit ticket reflection. This activity should show student understanding of listed objectives. ○ What would they change about their design next time? ○ How can Ecobricks affect your own community? Contingency Plan If students are struggling to be inspired, allow them time to research ideas online, as well as look at the 1 00 Under $100: One Hundred Tools for Empowering Global Women book to see the pictures of Ecobricks at work! Additionally, because this project can easily be picked up where
careers; greater focus on hands on experiences; and opportunities forstudent reflection [30]. For example, they suggested one-on-one mentoring opportunities andstudent evaluation of experiences as potential areas for growth.STEM Academy parents. The following themes emerged as most important from the parent-perspective for supporting student sense of belonging, safety, and conception of self (listed inorder of importance based on the list of validated strategies presented in Table 1 above): • Strategy 5: Present and recruit positive role models from diverse groups o Expose students to successful role models from their groups who refute negative stereotype. • Strategy 2: Create a critical mass o Increase the
a Bill of Materials to determine what to buy, quantities, sizes, etc. 10. Construct final model 11. Host exhibition of learning in front of an audience of peers and an invited audience 12. Reflect on the session including personal progress and skills learnedSince the students are at different stages of core skills (Math, Reading, English, etc.), theopen-ended aspect of the project parameters enables the students to learn much moreindividualized engineering skills. Students take the initiative to learn skills necessary to completethe projects they have designed. The instructors then help the students learn these skills and helpmanage safety during the process. However, the design process being followed is consistentacross all ages
toengineering by placing them in teams and asking them to build and customize the design of anunderwater remotely operated vehicle (U-ROV). Students were also tasked with competing withthe U-ROV in a timed obstacle course at the end of the program. In this study we examined howstudents participated in and built intra-team working relationships within the EAP using anembedded graduate student researcher, who simultaneously functioned as a team member, and anapproach informed by ethnographic research methods. Data were generated by the graduatestudent researcher through a reflective journaling practice, design artifacts detailing materialsproduced by students, as well as debriefings conducted with program mentors and directors. Inaccordance with an
summer BEST program was in all senses a success. Teachers reportedvery positive feedback. In addition, bioengineering faculty reported strong support for theprogram to continue. This year we have begun preparing two manuscripts to describe and reportour progress in the BEST program. In addition, we have been reflecting on ways to deepen ourunderstanding of the program impact on teachers as well as their classrooms. As we consider arenewal application, we are defining ways to strengthen and analyze the program morerigorously.CONCLUSION Reflecting on the progress made through the end of year 4 of this grant support, we areconfident that the BEST program is having a positive impact on its participants. We continue torecognize the importance
acknowledged that he didn’tknow but a professional athlete may be an option.As Joseph engaged with different team members in 5 different engineering design challengesover the 10-day period his perceptions and self-efficacy began shifting. As seen in Figure 1,Joseph’s perceptions of engineering decreased in the traits initially identified. Joseph explainedthat his decreased perception was a result of a change in his perceived level of difficulty. DueJoseph becoming more confident in his abilities to engage in the skills of an engineer, by the endof camp, Joseph states “I can [become an engineer], but I just don’t want to waste time.” Thisstatement is a direct reflection of the mismatch in Joseph’s personal interests with his pre- andpost- perceptions
differences. Forexample, the understanding of mixed representation and usage of engineering standards foundwith the Next Generation Science Standards[7] was essential to validate, as well as, each teacher'spercentage of minority students in their classrooms. Each team grappled with identifyingspecificity level of criteria, ensuring that criteria reflected diversity and inclusion needs, ensuringindicators monitor learning actions and context, ensuring that indicators reflect learning that ismeaningful and engaged, creating objectives that any subject matter teacher can use, and creatingobjectives beyond the steps of the engineering design process. The different perspectivescontinue throughout the creation of the grade-level criteria, indicators
‘COSMOSEducational Toolkit’.Initially, several teachers stated that the lecture and lab phase (weeks 1-2) of the program couldhave been shorter, rather than full-day activities because there was a lot of material to absorb. Inaddition, teachers also noted that they especially enjoyed the lecture topics that coincided directlywith lab experiments, as this gave them a sense of how-to best design lessons for their own studentsby being able to actively take on a learner’s perspective. These comments were made immediatelyafter the first 2-weeks of the PD program. At the end of the PD program teachers reflected andstated that the rigorous lecture and lab phase supported their conceptualization of wirelesscommunications in order to best create lessons in the
paper where weexplore how 53 kindergartners tested their first try design attempts, were prompted to engage infailure analysis when their designs failed, and planned their second designs.BackgroundThe Epistemic Practice of Persisting and Learning from FailureOne way to investigate preschool through grade 12 (P-12) students’ engagement in engineeringis through the frame of epistemic practices of engineering. These epistemic practices representthe ways of knowing and doing that are reflective of professional engineering practice andappropriate for P-12 students. Epistemic practices may also be regarded as ways of doing that arecentral to the development of an engineering identity. Cunningham and Kelly identified sixteenepistemic practices of
the needto increase the number of URM graduate students, and also reflects the importance of includingour URM undergraduate students in the program. White Asian/PI Latinx Black 14 Number of Participants 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2.5 (Sp'19
3 Teaching 101 Facilitation Strategies 4 Cultural Responsiveness 5 Project Management/Project Preparation 6 Reflection Table 2. The 2019 Ambassador workshop outlineAn element of support that is built into the Ambassadors program is the development of the“sponsor” role. Ambassadors apply with their sponsors, who are asked to fill out a separatedocument at the time of the Ambassador’s application. Sponsors are expected to serve as localsupport for Ambassadors in their outreach endeavors and are invited to attend SWE alongsidetheir Ambassador. In some cases, sponsors are family members, though other sponsors
in Table 5 in the pre- andpost- surveys on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1=Extremely Not Confident to 5= Extremely Confident.The arithmetic mean of the responses for each cohort was calculated and the Mann-Whitney testwas run to determine statistical significance between pre- and post- survey data.The data analysis shows an overall increase in confidence for almost all the statementsthroughout the years, with a few statistically significant improvements. For the 2016 cohort,“Using tools in the lab”, “Collecting data” and “Analyzing data” significantly increased (p ≤0.05) from pre- to post- survey. This result reflects the focus of the program on providingstudents with the opportunity to perform daily laboratory research, contributing to an
experience with the design cycle by designing a helmet to protect the brain. Students iteratively design the helmet using practical arts and crafts materials and engage in testing to determine the performance of their design. Students also reflect on their designs to influence further iterations. On day 3, students use the engineering design cycle to iteratively design surgical tools. Students evaluate their tools by performing mock surgeries on gelatin models to remove embedded masses. Students evaluate their tool performance and use that to inform further design improvements. On day 4, students revise their tools to enhance performance and prepare for day 5 challenges. The day 5 competition includes
developing grounded theory (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: SAGE.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.1222566. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this materialare those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National ScienceFoundation.
empathized with each other, and teachers’actions and language. Observations also include student notebooks which have lesson reflectionquestions as prompts for connecting lessons, empathy and real-world connections. The thirdmeans of data collection is interviews with students. Participants are asked interview questions atthe end of the program reflecting on the lessons and how they connected empathy andengineering. The interviews consist of questions such as: was there a time during the day whenyou connected with a peer or teacher and learned about how they felt about their project or thetopic at the time? If so, how did this connection affect you? and think back to a time today whenyou were faced with a challenge. What did you do to try and tackle
voices in computing ensures oursociety grows and develops accordingly.My participation in BPC efforts has benefited me in many ways. It has strengthened myemotional intelligence; developed my capacity for mentoring; and increased my knowledge ofresources available to students, curriculum development, and new technologies for CS education.It encouraged me to reflect on how my career might best align with my passions. I reasoned thatI could have a bigger impact training the voices of the future than being a singular voice that wasnot reflective of a larger community. My participation in BPC efforts expanded my professionalnetwork; it gave me access to many mentors who helped facilitate my transition from industryand into academia as a tenure-track
Thinking Process, teamwork skills, andcommunication skills.One limitation of this evaluation is that the findings reflect only the perspective of studentparticipants. This was done deliberately in 2019 to allow the evaluation to focus on gatheringself-reported data from students. However, future evaluations of the Summer Accelerator shouldinclude data collected from multiple sources, including students, program instructors, andparents. This will provide richer information from multiple perspectives on the outcomes forstudents participating in the Summer Accelerator. Additionally, program instructors cancontribute information on the experience of implementing the K-12 IP program over the courseof one week. This information will provide further
ceiling for each one. The trip also provided experience intransportation over a vast expanse of water - many of them for the first time. Apart from theinformation provided before each field trip, an official from each organization was contacted tospeak to the students and to provide a guided tour of the facilities. After each field trip, there wasa reflection session were the students discussed their experiences and the lessons learnt. Figure 6shows students in a field Trip to the Cape May Ferry and the Wildwood Aviation MuseumFigure 6 Students on the Cape May Ferry (L) and in the Wildwood Aviation Museum (R)Questionnaires and Exit SurveysThere were Questionnaires completed by the students every week on the activities of the Instituteon each
datawhich are elements of authentic learning. This pedagogy allows the students to relate the mathand science concepts to engineering and real-life use.The effectiveness of the approach was assessed using a quasi-experimental within-subjectresearch design. The intervention was a week-long professional development workshop forteachers (Figure 1a) followed by a week-long summer camp for middle school students (Figure1b). The teacher professional development workshop included elements of best practices [23] i.e.(a) Content focus, (b) Active learning, (c) Collaboration, (d) Use of models and modeling, (e)Coaching and expert support, (f) Feedback and reflection. The teachers learned the basics ofphysics of flight, aircraft flight controls and practiced
and with organizations such as 4H programs that couldprovide important local support for students. In the final phase of our study, we plan to share thisinformation through participatory design workshops with key groups of community memberswho work with rural students.AcknowledgementsThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under GrantNumber 1734834. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.References[1] State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), “The Virginia plan for higher education: Annual report for 2016 to the General Assembly of
-orderresponses was c) associate this project with another project to optimize understanding. Perhaps thiswas because this level of association would require documentation and reflection on theperformance of the positive and negative aspects to capitalize on future projects, and we did notscaffold such reflection.Abstraction and modularization: The ideas included in this evaluation criterion were: a) to detectthe materials or tools necessary for the project, b) to identify the learning scenarios, and c) toacquire new knowledge and inspirations. In most cases, high-level responses are observed perhapsdue to the wide-spread knowledge of the technology used in the construction process and thescaffolded study of the basic parts of the subsystems (sensors
included teachers explaining how to usestudents’ computational models to test their designs or guiding students to reflect on their priorknowledge to consider how certain materials may or may not be accessible to students withphysical disabilities.Table 4. Epistemic, practical, or not practice-based teacher talk by class. Epistemic Practical Not Practice-Based Lesson Orange Blue Orange Blue Orange Blue All Lessons 7% 17%+ 66% 67% 27%+ 16% Design 6% 15%+ 66% 75%+ 28%+ 10% Test 0% 11%+ 82% 79% 18%+ 11% Communicate 12
discussions than thosewomen in groups with more men or an equal number of men and women [23]. In contrast tomonological approaches often taken by men, women’s communication tends to be more interactive[24], with girls asking more probing questions than boys [25].Building on these considerations, the primary objective of this study was to examine how genderaffects students’ decision-making process in an engineering-based SSI context related torenewable energy. Duschl suggested that we need to move beyond structured dialogue toward aframework that reflects how evidence is constructed and supported by reasoning [10]. Tounderstand how a student's context (gender) shapes their reasoning and decision-making, students’argumentative practices were