Paper ID #13735Urban elementary school students’ reflective decision-making during formalengineering learning experiences (Fundamental)Dr. Kristen Bethke Wendell, University of Massachusetts BostonDr. Christopher George Wright, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education in the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee.Dr. Patricia C Paugh, University of Massachusetts Boston Page 26.1636.1 c American Society for
sources included files ofstudent designs with embedded analysis and electronic notes taken by the students. The presenceof explanatory behaviors was used to evaluate alignment of students’ decisions in selecting anidea for further design and testing. Data from 44 high school students and 132 design solutionswere analyzed. Results show that students became increasingly more reflective with eachsubsequent design. In addition, students were more likely to cite data in their reflectiveexplanations. Implications from these results are discussed as they pertain to educationalsuggestions.Keywords: engineering design, high school, tradeoffs, experimentation, computer-aided design.IntroductionOur understanding of what K-12 students learn from engineering
children’s motivation, interest, and awareness inSTEM.IntroductionWith the need to prepare students for the 21st century workforce a university with a very diversestudent population strives to address one of the critically important issues facing society:increasing the number of underrepresented students pursuing and completing degrees in science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Evidence within the Department ofLabor reflects that fifteen of the twenty fastest growing jobs projected for 2014 requiresignificant preparation in mathematics and science with the numbers of STEM professionsexpected to grow at a faster rate than those non-STEM professions[1]. Although careers in STEMprovide paths out of poverty, make significant
, record, and use their own data design challenge mathematics to an authentic engineering• Solve a problem with a fictional • Observe, measure, and record their own design challenge character while actively participating in data • Observe, measure, record, and analyze the story • Solve a problem with a fictional friend their own data• Collaborate and reflect on their solution while actively participating in the story • Solve a problem for a fictional business • Collaborate in a team using real-world trade-offs
processes when peers were willing and able to providesupport. Kolodner and colleagues4, 5 developed ritualized activity structures that facilitate peerinteraction. The purpose of the present mixed-methods study was to investigate how middle-school students’ respond to communication challenges during a set of design-reflect-designprocesses associated with collaborative engineering design. Two questions guided analysis: RQ1: What do learners’ written reflections reveal about their perceptions of their group’s communication patterns, and how do these perceptions shift across the two design challenges? RQ2: What are learners’ perceptions of the quality of their individual-level interactions, and how do these perceptions
for students to apply understanding of wavebehavior and patterns while designing a code and device to transmit location information torescue their classmates from “disaster”. Elementary students, in the role as Secret Agents, engagein NGSS wave transfer thinking while applying knowledge of light and/or sound waves.Designed codes and devices are presented to promote and demonstrate understanding of scienceand engineering.Context: Students are introduced to this design challenge after science exploration andinvestigations with the behavior and characteristics of light and sound. These explorationsintroduce the concepts of reflection, refraction, and also develop a model to represent wavecharacteristics using Slinkys and ropes. Students are
Page 26.660.2unemployment rates, STEM jobs “are going unfilled simply for lack of people with the right skillsets.”2, further emphasizing the need to train a population of qualified STEM graduates.However, current trends in engineering enrollment reflect a decrease from 6.3 to 5.4 percent ofthe total degrees conferred.3 The 2012 President’s Council of Advisors on Science andTechnology (PCAST) report, “Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional CollegeGraduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,” indicates thatthe United States needs to prepare one million additional STEM professionals in the next decadeto maintain its dominance in science and technology.4 One important strategy for increasing thequalified
Page 26.844.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 High School Engineering Class: From Wood Shop to Advanced Manufacturing (Evaluation)AbstractThe maker movements, a general term for the rise of inventing, designing, and tinkering, and theaddition of engineering standards to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) havespawned a major evolution in technology classes throughout the country. At Georgia Institute ofTechnology, a new curriculum attempts to bring the maker movement to high school audiencesthrough both curricular and extra-curricular channels. The curriculum is structured aroundengineering standards and learning goals that reflect design and advanced
only one idea; and enact design as a sequence of steps in their searchfor a solution. Our review of the literature indicates a wide range in students’ abilities toengage in engineering: in some instances, students demonstrate an “uncannycompetence” to resolve ambiguities and “exploit the open-ended situations in aproductive way,” (Roth, 1995, p. 378), while at others, they “can be unaware or unwaryof the potential for cascading complexity” (Crismond & Adams, 2012, p. 747).Our research on the Novel Engineering project reflects similar contrasts in studentengagement11, 23. For example, we have found that some students may consider multipledimensions of the design situation and develop optimal solutions for their clients17, whileothers
, and Shake Table Survival. Engineering Design Process This process is used to guide students through the STEM EDA curriculum Build a prototype for the design chosen in Step 4 while encouraging teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity. and utilize the iterative nature of design. Test the prototype on the shake table and evaluate its performance. Reflect on the performance of the prototype and suggest improvements and redesigns of the
other 21 Century Skills. • It meets common core and next generation science standards.More information and resources for implementation can be found at novelengineering.org. Page 26.1097.2 This project is funded by the National Science Foundation DRK-12 program, grant # DRL-1020243. Any opinion, findings,conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
, larger-scale, quantitative scientific studies. Brown4points out that criteria against which to measure success of interventions or guide iterations ineducational DBR should consist of development of traits which the school system is chargedwith teaching, e.g., problem solving, critical thinking, and reflective learning.In this paper, we test the hypothesis that the flexibility and hands-on nature of a roboticsplatform will support different audio, visual, verbal (read/write), and kinesthetic learningstyles,5,6 offering teachers more versatility within lesson plans while effectively teaching STEMconcepts to students. Despite a lack of agreement7 within the education research communityregarding categories or, in some cases, the existence of
. Joachim Walther, University of Georgia Dr. Walther is an assistant professor of engineering education research at the University of Georgia (UGA). He is a director of the Collaborative Lounge for Understanding Society and Technology through Educational Research (CLUSTER), an interdisciplinary research group with members from engineering, art, educational psychology and social work. His research interests range from the role of empathy in engineering students’ professional formation, the role of reflection in engineering learning, and interpretive research methodologies in the emerging field of engineering education research. His teaching focuses on innovative approaches to introducing systems thinking and
program presents STEM Integrated STEM Education MastersEducation as appropriate for all students, not just program.the best and brightest.The faculty in the Integrated STEM program are from the education, biology, chemistry,engineering, computer science, and mathematics programs. The vast majority of the curriculumis delivered online. Courses are listed in Figure 1. There is not a division between content basedcourses and methods courses. Application is stressed in each course. Students reflect upon howwhat they are learning can help improve their own curricula and teaching. Although, somecourses are team taught, the course presented hear is not.The Robotics Engineering CourseThe Robotics Engineering course is
solution to the scenario using materials provided and discuss the prototype with a partner andteam to determine how effectively the prototype meets the needs of the stakeholder. The teacherparticipants will then explain the solution to the scenario to the group and how this prototype will meet theneeds of the stakeholders.Reflection- Reflection is an essential part of the educational process not only with students but withinstruction. The teachers will reflect using the following questions. • How would this process help identify potential projects and the critical thinking associated with delivering a possible engineering solution in your community? • How are the discussions that the prototype facilitates helpful for understanding
engaging science teachers in projects with substantive focus on reflection ontheir own teaching is important in helping to change their thinking about science teaching andlearning and to initiate the development of PCK. Furthermore, Nilsson16 found that teamteaching and videotaped lessons were two useful ways of promoting reflection of their teaching,and subsequently developing their PCK. Similarly, in a study investigating two components ofPCK: (i) knowledge of students’ understanding, conceptions and misconceptions of topics, and Page 26.16.3(ii) knowledge of strategies and representations for teaching particular topics, it was concludedthat
(1)Astronauts go on spacewalks to make repairs, do experiments and test new equipment . Two big challenges in spacewalks are, first, that space can feel very cold (250 degrees F) to an (2)astronaut in the shade and, second, space can feel very warm (250 degrees F) in the Sun . The reason for this is that an astronaut will be exposed to about 7 times the amount of radiation that we, on the Earth’s surface, experience due in part to the reflectivity of the surface and (3)atmosphere
stream table, very similar to the actual stream tablesstudents used in the first activity. Students can adjust parameters for the model such as table slope, soilproperties, and water flow rate. They then make observations of the resulting erosion patterns, and discusssimilarities and differences to the real stream table. Students also reflect on the utility of a computationalmodel.Activity #3: RivertownThe second computer-based activity introduces students to Rivertown, a fictional town within the NetLogosimulation, in a flood plain next to a river. The river can overflow its banks, which will flood the town’s Page 26.1355.2fields
frustrating.”Basic STEPS AssessmentDraw an EngineerAssessment of the 2014 Basic STEPS Camp included participant pre and post surveys,participant engineering notebooks, and analysis of daily reflections. Participant engagementwith the e-textiles showed the most electrifying measurements. Girls were asked before andafter their STEPS experience to complete an activity called “Draw an Engineer.”4 In this activitythe girls first described what engineering is and then what engineers do. They were then asked todraw an engineer. The drawing in particular is meant to capture stereotypes that students mayhave towards engineering4. Girls at STEPS were given this activity before and after camp toevaluate how their perception of what engineers do changed. Due to
cohort of teacher participants. Table 2 reports the results forthe statistical analysis comparing the current cohort’s actual and intended use of various STEMteaching techniques. The researcher focused on these eight items because they are related tocommunication and reflection, which are critical components of STEM learning, and seem to bea recurring them in regards to one of the most important lessons learned from the workexperience. Page 26.1459.4 Table 2. Statistical analysis comparing current cohort’s current (pre) and intended (post) frequency of STEM teaching techniques Question Survey N
architects of change, (b) provide a professional learning vehicle foreducators to reflect on practices and develop content knowledge, (c) inspire a sense of ownershipin curriculum decision-making among teachers, and (d) use an instructional approach that iscoherent with teachers’ interests and professional goals. This preliminary study evaluates theeffects of a CDB professional development program, the PTC STEM Certificate Program, ontwenty-six K-12 teachers who participated in 62 hours of engineering education professionaldevelopment over a six month period. Participants learned about industry and educationengineering concepts, tested engineering curricula, collaborated with K-12 educators andindustry professionals, and developed project-based
legislated equality for women in work,education and law. The activism of the second wave of feminism produced the majority ofcurriculum feminization and raised concerns about the effect of feminized curriculum on boys.The third wave, also called post-feminism, is a time of confusion for most girls and women whobelieve they live in a society of equality but experience sexism in many obvious and hiddenways. British Columbian curriculum documents no longer mention feminist requirements butfocus on aboriginal and racial diversity, reflecting the post-feminist culture that women are equaland sexism no longer needs mentioning. The post-feminist constructs of Girl Power andSuccessful Girls9,10 send the message that girls can do and have anything, yet
a means for pre-service elementary teachers tolearn how to make connections between science and engineering concepts. In the present study,the emphasis will be on understanding the connections through the developed and implementedinstructional strategies and teacher reflections on the experiences during the elementary sciencemethods course. The following questions guide this study: How does the collaboration between engineering students and pre-service teachers impact the subject matter knowledge needed to design and implement instruction for science and engineering? What are the affordances and constraints that pre-service teachers’ identify as impacting the process of designing and implementing
andimplement engineering design challenge modules. The key to the program’s success areresource coaches, engineers and master teachers, who guide the teachers through the process ofcreating and implementing lessons incorporating engineering design activities and provideinvaluable feedback as teachers reflect on their own practice. Program evaluation focuses on teacher change in instructional practices, student growth incontent knowledge, and student engagement. By participating in engineering courses andpedagogy workshops, creating and implementing modules incorporating engineering designchallenges unique to their course content, and receiving continual support and guidance from aresource team of engineers and master educators, teachers report
phrases in the curricula referring to data or evidence withTAP’s data, and warrants included any reasoning beyond data (e.g., explanation, justification,rationale). The results section of this paper reflects both of these types of argumentationlanguage, the terms of TAP and those used by the teachers.Additionally, this work was guided by the Framework for Implementing Quality K-12Engineering Education31. This framework identifies nine key indicators that define thecharacteristics of K-12 engineering. Figure 1 provides a list of the key indicators and a shortdescription of each. When an element of argumentation was identified to be in an engineering
motivation and selfdirection so they become lifelong explorers. Because participants' prior knowledge of the problem at hand is often limited, engineers first introduce the core concepts in a 15 minute presentation. After this instruction, families have the freedom to evaluate and shape their learning, pursuing those questions and concepts that are of greatest interest. Additionally, by moving through the stages of inspiration, planning, building, reflecting, and redesigning (i.e. engineering design process (EDP)) with their children, parents and caregivers model important skills including persistence, creativity, and curiosity to find new solutions. Evaluation
- 3:30 Dismissal Dismissal Dismissal Dismissal Figure 1: Sample Camp Agendas Page 26.644.6Strategic Camp Design ProcessOver the course of many years designing, offering, assessing, re-designing, re-assessing, etc. oursummer camps we have developed a strategic design process approach for existing and newcamps. The simple steps are: Make it Easy, Make it Fun, Make it Work, Work the Mechanics,and Assessment and Reflection. Each of these is described in more detail below:Making it EasyAfter the camp leadership team has
) Page 26.1500.5would set an output voltage of 5V at the digital pin 9, while the same command with LOW instead of HIGH Will setthat digital pin to 0V.2 [] Indicate actions or gesturesOne could argue that instead of tinkering, Hazel and Silver should have systematically parsed thecode to make sense of it right from the start; they would have had better task success and betterlearned Arduino programming through that process. We contend this notion. Hazel’s and Silver’sactivities reflect a recognition of the variety of resources at their disposal and a systematic walkthrough the resources to try and achieve their goal. At each stage, they expanded the scope oftheir investigation: first, getting feedback from manipulating the specific system
American students more strongly than any otherminority group. AfA students were also influenced by social supports. Compared to the othergroups, AfA were less influenced by influence from others but had a higher level of influencefrom pre-college activities. The relatively high influence from interest in STEM as well as pre-college activities is mostlikely explained by the fact that many of the African American students in our sample went toSTEM focused high schools and were recruited specifically from them. Our data reflect thispotential explanation, as AfA were relatively more influenced by recruitment and financialavailability (scholarships) compared to their peers. The finding that exposure to STEM classesmotivated these AfA students to
reflection ofthe teachers’ Unit implementation, we will work with the project team and resource team tosupport professional development for the teachers to improve their CBL and EDP instruction. Page 26.1427.2IntroductionNext Generation Science Standards (NGSS), as defined by the National Research Council(NRC), include the critical thinking and communication skills that students need forpostsecondary success and citizenship in a world fueled by innovations in science andtechnology20. These science practices encompass the habits and skills that scientists andengineers use day in and day out. Ohio’s New Learning Standards for Science lists the