Fortitude in frustration, failure: Exploring emotional responses within an at-home elementary engineering program.

Peter N. Knox; Amber Simpson; Adam V. Maltese

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 6: Engineering in the Home
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 19
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43733
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43733
Download Count: 167

Paper Authors

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Peter N. Knox University of Vermont

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Amber Simpson State University of New York at Binghamton orcid.org/0000-0001-5467-4885

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Amber Simpson is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Teaching, Leaming and Educational Leadership Department at Binghamton University. Her research interests include (1) examining individual's identity(ies) in one or more STEM disciplines, (2) understanding the role of making a.11d tinkering in formal and informal learning environments, and (3) investigating family engagement in and interactions around STEM-related activities. Before joining BU, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Indiana University-Bloomington. She earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from Clemson University.

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Adam V. Maltese Indiana University-Bloomington orcid.org/0000-0001-8422-9395

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Professor of Science Education

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Abstract

Child motivation and academic success research indicate that parents are critical to their child(ren)’s growth and development, both academically and socially, and often have a significant influence on the experiences and information children are exposed to and engage with. To date, little is known about the way parental engagement, including perceptions and reactions to difficulty or failure, might shape child interests and engagement. Further, how parents perceive and engage with children’s negative reactions to difficulty and perceived failure, to then shape their perspectives or mindsets, remains under-investigated. To address this gap, the current study explores child and parent perceptions of and reactions to failure within an out-of-school, home-based engineering program. Specifically, we sought to answer the following research questions, 1) How was failure perceived by participating children and parents? and 2) What was the subsequent action/reaction to that failure? Data were derived from over 20 post-program interviews with participating children and parents from years 1-4 of a home-based, elementary engineering program involving take-home kits and a culminating, self-identified engineering project. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive coding to identify themes related to the research questions regarding the perspectives on failure and how such perspectives shaped their experiences and attitudes toward the project going forward.

Findings illuminated a family focus on the end goal and less on the frustration that arises during the process. Children and parents reflected on moments of difficulty arising with more complicated kit projects, particularly those with intricate pieces and a greater number of steps in the process. These processes often held unforeseen obstacles (e.g., needing to orient material in a particular way), which led to initial design failures. Yet these moments gave rise to families aiming to complete all steps in the process, to then be able to evaluate the final product and determine where failures or obstacles might lie. Another theme revolved around immediacy and perceiving “not getting it right the first time” as a failure. Children perceived initial roadblocks or material malfunctions as failures, leading to frustration and discouragement. This prompted parents to engage in tactics like stepping away, taking extra time, or pushing on to the next steps to get to a result. Collaborative dialogue and promoting co-creation or teamwork also emerged as common tactics for working through frustration and perceived failure.

The results of this study shed light on the way that child-parent engagement and the tactics employed by parents may influence a child’s perseverance and willingness to work through difficulty. This research represents an entry point for investigating how parents perceive and react to failures and challenges, and how these reactions shape their communication around failure with their children. Such parental reaction and communication may shape children’s mindset development, perspectives, and engagement. Implications for family engagement and influence on child mindsets and interest in STEM and engineering content or learning are discussed.

Citation
Format

Knox, P. N., & Simpson, A., & Maltese, A. V. (2023, June), Fortitude in frustration, failure: Exploring emotional responses within an at-home elementary engineering program. Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43733

TY - CPAPER
AB - Child motivation and academic success research indicate that parents are critical to their child(ren)’s growth and development, both academically and socially, and often have a significant influence on the experiences and information children are exposed to and engage with. To date, little is known about the way parental engagement, including perceptions and reactions to difficulty or failure, might shape child interests and engagement. Further, how parents perceive and engage with children’s negative reactions to difficulty and perceived failure, to then shape their perspectives or mindsets, remains under-investigated. To address this gap, the current study explores child and parent perceptions of and reactions to failure within an out-of-school, home-based engineering program. Specifically, we sought to answer the following research questions, 1) How was failure perceived by participating children and parents? and 2) What was the subsequent action/reaction to that failure? Data were derived from over 20 post-program interviews with participating children and parents from years 1-4 of a home-based, elementary engineering program involving take-home kits and a culminating, self-identified engineering project. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive coding to identify themes related to the research questions regarding the perspectives on failure and how such perspectives shaped their experiences and attitudes toward the project going forward.

Findings illuminated a family focus on the end goal and less on the frustration that arises during the process. Children and parents reflected on moments of difficulty arising with more complicated kit projects, particularly those with intricate pieces and a greater number of steps in the process. These processes often held unforeseen obstacles (e.g., needing to orient material in a particular way), which led to initial design failures. Yet these moments gave rise to families aiming to complete all steps in the process, to then be able to evaluate the final product and determine where failures or obstacles might lie. Another theme revolved around immediacy and perceiving “not getting it right the first time” as a failure. Children perceived initial roadblocks or material malfunctions as failures, leading to frustration and discouragement. This prompted parents to engage in tactics like stepping away, taking extra time, or pushing on to the next steps to get to a result. Collaborative dialogue and promoting co-creation or teamwork also emerged as common tactics for working through frustration and perceived failure.

The results of this study shed light on the way that child-parent engagement and the tactics employed by parents may influence a child’s perseverance and willingness to work through difficulty. This research represents an entry point for investigating how parents perceive and react to failures and challenges, and how these reactions shape their communication around failure with their children. Such parental reaction and communication may shape children’s mindset development, perspectives, and engagement. Implications for family engagement and influence on child mindsets and interest in STEM and engineering content or learning are discussed.
AU - Peter N. Knox
AU - Amber Simpson
AU - Adam V. Maltese
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Fortitude in frustration, failure: Exploring emotional responses within an at-home elementary engineering program.
UR - https://peer.asee.org/43733
DO - 10.18260/1-2--43733
ER -