Poster, Incorporating Engineering Design Into Elementary School Science Curricula

In this paper, we present the curricula created for our study on the impact of using engineering design to teach elementary school students science content. We consider the theoretical background that supports this endeavor, the initial set of engineering design-based science curriculum units that have been created, and the preliminary findings on the science content learning that occurs during unit enactment. The four curriculum units are Design a Musical Instrument: The Science of Sound, Design a Model House: The Properties of Materials, Design an Animal Model: Animal Studies, and Design a People Mover: Simple Machines. We used prepost tests to compare engineering-based students’ science content gains to those of students using their district’s regular science curriculum. The results suggest that for upper elementary students, engineering-design-based science instruction enables as much or more science learning as does traditional science instruction, and at the same time it introduces students to engineering design.