Engaging Middle School Students With Engineering Education, Curricular Integration And Societal Relevance
- Conference
- Location
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Louisville, Kentucky
- Publication Date
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June 20, 2010
- Start Date
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June 20, 2010
- End Date
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June 23, 2010
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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29
- Page Numbers
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15.469.1 - 15.469.29
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--16958
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/16958
- Download Count
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697
Paper Authors
Vincent Pizziconi Arizona State University
Susan Haag Arizona State University
Tirupalavanam Ganesh Arizona State University
Tirupalavanam Ganesh, Arizona State University
Tirupalavanam Ganesh, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Arizona State University. He has degrees and experience in engineering, computer science, and education. He has brought this experience to bear in previous research that examined the use of technologies in K-12 settings with diverse students. He has worked with the Children’s Museum of Houston on the development and implementation of Robotics-based STEM programming for urban youth. He is the Principal Investigator of the NSF Award# 0737616, Learning through Engineering Design and Practice.
Lynn Cozort Arkansas State University
Stephen Krause Arizona State University
B.L. Ramakrishna Arizona State University
Deirdre Meldrum Arizona State University
Brian Lunt Arizona State University
Brian Lunt, Arizona State University
Brian Lunt is a graduate of the Harrington Bioengineering Program in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering. Since graduating with a BSE in Bioengineering, Brian has been working as a senior capstone design advisor for the past year in the Bioengineering Design Studio Prototype Lab. He will begin pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering in the fall of 2010.
email: Brian.Lunt@asu.edu
Amaneh Tasooji Arizona State University
Amaneh Tasooji, Arizona State University
Amaneh Tasooji is an Associate Research Professor in the School of Materials at ASU and has been teaching and developing new content for materials science and engineering classes and laboratories. She has developed new content and contextual teaching methods from her experience as a researcher and General Manager at Honeywell Inc. She has developed new assessments to reveal and address student misconceptions in introductory materials engineering classes. She is currently working on an NSF IEECI grant to bring engineering service learning activities to middle school students.
Albert Valdez Arizona State University
Albert Valadez, Arizona State University
Albert Valadez is a graduate of the Harrington Bioengineering Program in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering. Since graduating with a BSE in Bioengineering, Albert has been working as a senior capstone design advisor for the past half year in the Bioengineering Design Studio Prototype Lab and plans to pursue a career in the medical device and diagnostic industry.
email: Albert.Valadez@asu.edu
Victoria Yarbrough Arizona State University
Victoria Yarbrough, Arizona State University
Victoria Yarbrough graduated with a BSE in Bioengineering from of the Harrington Department of Bioengineering in the School of Biological & Health Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. She is currently pursuing an MS in Bioengineering with a research emphasis in the design of synthetic viral vectors and phage therapy. She currently works as an advisor in the Bioengineering Design Studio Prototype Lab. Upon completion of her MS from Arizona State University, she plans to attend medical school.
email: Victoria.Yarbrough@asu.edu
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
The P3E2 Project The Introduction, Implementation and Evaluation of Engineering Design Integrated Across the Middle School Curriculum Abstract
The Partnership, Pathway, and Pipeline for Engineering Education (P3E2) Project is an exploratory collaboration between ASU Engineering faculty and Santan Junior High School teachers from a broad range of subjects and local community members aimed at engaging middle school students in real world and grade-relevant engineering activities as a way of enriching the value of their STEM education as it relates to STEM careers and their broad societal relevance. Central to the P3E2 project is the introduction of engineering design across the curricula via the implementation of the engineering design process through engineering service-learning projects that are intended to facilitate integrated learning of science, math, social studies and language arts. Such STEM-based integrated activities have been co-developed in partnership with middle school teachers and are designed to engage students and captivate their interest while promoting problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills by addressing real world needs in their local communities.
This one-year pilot project consisted of four key phases that were implemented in nearly equal quarters, i.e., (a) the creation of a vibrant partnership to assess, motivate and inform teachers and counselors about engineering and its societal connections, workforce barriers, and curricular relevance, (b) the development of a viable education pathway to successfully engage 8th grade students in the full spectra of STEM-based learning that captivate their interest through integrated activities that span across science, mathematics, language arts and social studies, (c) the implementation of semester-long science and engineering fair projects chosen by students who were mentored by ASU engineering undergraduate and graduate students and (d) the evaluation of the P3E2 program effectiveness using designated assessment tools that were developed and administered to the teachers and students at the middle school.
The major findings and the lessons learnt from this P3E2 pilot project were based on assessment tools that included 1) a STEM content and attitude survey for students, 2) the “Draw an Engineer” assessment instrument for students and teachers, 3) a combined survey on Design, Engineering, Technology (DET) and Tinkering self-efficacy for teachers, 4) a mid-year assessment by teachers to determine if the project was meeting its goals, 5) an assessment of students and teachers based on an activity designed from materials included in the magazine “Engineering, Go for It”, and 6) a reflection about the project by students and their parents.
The overall outcome of the P3E2 pilot project is that careful incorporation of engineering design into the middle school STEM curricula significantly enhances STEM learning and produces more informed students who are able to make better STEM-related career choices and who are able to better appreciate the societal relevance of engineering. The next step to further the P3E2 project is to address the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead in order to achieve sustainability and scalability.
Pizziconi, V., & Haag, S., & Ganesh, T., & Cozort, L., & Krause, S., & Ramakrishna, B., & Meldrum, D., & Lunt, B., & Tasooji, A., & Valdez, A., & Yarbrough, V. (2010, June), Engaging Middle School Students With Engineering Education, Curricular Integration And Societal Relevance Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16958
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