The Enacted Curriculum: A Video Based Analysis
- 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
- Tagged Division
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K-12 & Pre-College Engineering
- Page Count
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24
- Page Numbers
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15.1228.1 - 15.1228.24
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--16334
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/16334
- Download Count
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514
Paper Authors
Amy Prevost University of Wisconsin, Madison
Amy Prevost is a graduate student in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has focused on the STEM career pipeline, especially related to engineering and engineering education and biotechnology.
Mitchell Nathan University of Wisconsin, Madison
Mitchell J. Nathan is Professor of Educational Psychology, Curriculum & Instruction, and Psychology, in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Chair of the Learning Sciences program. He is a research fellow at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and at the Center on Education and Work. He uses experimental and discourse-based research methods to understand the cognitive, social and embodied nature of STEM learning and instruction. He is currently co-principal investigator of the AWAKEN project in engineering education, along with Professors Sandra Shaw Courter and L. Allen Phelps.
Benjamin Stein University of Wisconsin
Benjamin Stein is a graduate student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, where his work is in hyperspectral laser design. Before returning to school, he worked as a math instructor at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University and an electronics design engineer at ASML. These experiences as an engineer and educator lend themselves to his curricular analysis work for the education portion of the project.
Allen Phelps University of Wisconsin, Madison
L. Allen Phelps is Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, and Director of the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over the past two decades, his research, teaching, and public service work has focused on the interaction between the education and economic sectors with particular attention to policy initiatives, equity issues, and professional development.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
The Enacted Curriculum: A Video Based Analysis of Instruction and Learning in High School Pre-Engineering Classrooms Abstract
Engineering excellence serves as one of the primary vehicles for technological innovation, economic prosperity, national security, and advancements in public health. To address engineering preparation and appeal, technical education programs have emerged that provide hands-on, project-based curricula that focus on the integration of mathematics and science knowledge with engineering activities. Learning Sciences research emphasizes that integration of conceptual knowledge must be made explicit to learners to promote successful transfer of these ideas to novel problem-solving and design contexts.
In this study, we analyze the second foundation course in the Project Lead the Way™ sequence, Principles of Engineering ™. We found that while a significant portion of the instructors’ time was spent on class management tasks, such as collecting worksheets and taking roll (non-instructional time), lecturing and tutoring took up the bulk of the class time. Only a small amount of time in class was spent on non-interactions between the instructor and students. Second, a greater proportion of the total instruction time was devoted to concepts than skills; moreover most concept instruction co-occurred with skills instruction. Lastly, over one third of the instruction linked mathematics skills and concepts to engineering skills and concepts. Explicit connections were made more often than implicit connections, though, occasionally, no connections were made between the mathematics being discussed and the engineering activity that was the focus of the lesson.
These analyses show greater presence of concepts, and more frequent explicit conceptual connections between math and engineering than observed in earlier analyses of Introduction to Engineering™, the first course in the Project Lead the Way™ program. Thus, our observations of the Principles of Engineering™ courses show several ways in which instruction may provide stronger support for learning, engagement and transfer than was evident in observations of the Introduction to Engineering™ course. This empirical research stands to identify where engineering education promotes the deep and well-integrated concepts and skills that can lead to the successful transfer of that knowledge throughout one’s STEM education and conversely where the curriculum can be improved.
Introduction
The Intended, Enacted, Assessed and Learned Curriculum
Curriculum analyses can be divided into the study of intended, enacted, assessed, and learned curricula. The intended curriculum refers to the content of the course or program under investigation. For K-12 education, this generally includes the printed course
Prevost, A., & Nathan, M., & Stein, B., & Phelps, A. (2010, June), The Enacted Curriculum: A Video Based Analysis Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16334
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