Learning Through Engineering Design And Practice: Implementation And Impact Of A Middle School Engineering Education Program

This paper describes research efforts and results of the first year of a two-year long technologically centered discovery-based extracurricular learning experience designed and delivered to over 100 seventh-grade students from four middle schools. Research methods used to study program impact included statistical analysis of preand posttests, qualitative research techniques of eliciting information using subject-produced drawings, journal writing, focus groups, and observation. This project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program aimed at enhancing traditionally underrepresented youths’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. Disciplinary experts were drawn from materials science, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, sustainability, science education, mathematics education, cognitive psychology, counseling, and education research methods. These experts worked with K-12 educators to design and deliver an extra-curricular middle school engineering education program. The program utilized the engineering design process as the fundamental construct for engagement with the novel teaching and learning experiences. The program provided experiences where participants learned engineering and information technology skills through activities such as simulating desert tortoise behaviors, and researching and developing designs to mitigate the urban heat island. They also participated in leadership development activities over the summer serving as docents for younger children at the local science center, a research internship with the university, and an industry internship with a local energy and water service provider. Student learning was assessed using formal and informal methods. Informal assessments consisted of whiteboard presentations, open-ended questioning, demonstrations, journal writeups, and teacher observations. These were used to guide daily activities and lessons. Formal assessments consisted of pre and post assessments. Subject produced drawings were used to elicit students’ preand post-program knowledge. Draw a Robot and Draw an Engineer assessments were used. A survey instrument was developed and implemented to elicit tinkering and technical self-efficacy. An earlier developed instrument that was validated using a sample of responses of 200 engineers to develop the items was modified for use with youth. Observations of project activities by external evaluators, interviews with educators, school administrators, program facilitators, principal investigators, industry volunteers, collaborators, and student participants, were used to study whether project and research goals were met. Pre and post assessments in the form of open-ended questions related to content in major units were administered. Assessments were analyzed to determine what impact the project had on student learning and student interests in related STEM content. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on each unit to compare differences in the relationship between pre and P ge 15837.3 post assessment scores. Data revealed that by engaging youth in learning experiences that emphasizes both utilitarian and inquiry-based motivations, where learning is made relevant to students’ lives, the outcome leads to enhanced learning in content areas. We have also learned that systematic efforts are needed to dispel misunderstandings regarding STEM subjects and professions. Coordinated and carefully designed in-depth and long-term experiences are needed to provide students and families with knowledge of STEM education and career pathways. Perspectives and Theoretical Framework Research has shown that the public does not believe that engineers are engaged with societal and community concerns. Whereas, in reality, engineering has existed as long as humans have had needs. Engineering has to be viewed as an ethical human endeavor that addresses the needs of a global society. Engineers are inventors and designers; they apply science and mathematics; and use their imagination and creativity to make ideas a reality. They create technical solutions to meet societal needs. This forms the core of engineering activities. Yet, there is a decline in high school students’ interest in careers in science and engineering resulting in a decline in engineering enrollment, both undergraduate and graduate. Engineering doctorates have declined in recent years and are still below the levels of the 1980s. Adolescents seldom lack curiosity, but as they go into the teenage years their enthusiasm for learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects appears to decline. Many drop out before the end of required schooling. Others continue to turn up for school but make the minimum effort. These problems take on new meaning in a period when a fundamental survival tool for individuals, and nations, is the willingness to learn and re-learn, i.e., engage in life-long learning. Trade liberalization, globalization, fast-changing nature of work, and ageing populations have impacted the distribution of employment opportunities. Low-skill jobs are disappearing; people are switching jobs more often; and demands for highly skilled professionals in developed nations such as ours are growing rapidly. Also, significant differences in educational attainment remain with regard to ethnicity, origin, age, and sex. These educational gaps are reflected in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The performance gap for Hispanics, American Indians, and African Americans in comparison to Whites and Asians exists in all subjects; it is more prominent in Science. In Arizona, 77% of American Indians, 72% of Hispanics and 68% of African Americans performed Below the Basic level in comparison to 32% Whites in the 2005 NAEP eighth grade Science assessment. Further, engineering is among the least gender equitable professions with a workforce that is only 11% female and STEM programs continue to have low minority enrollment. The cause has psychosociocultural roots that create barriers to female and minority participation. Evidence suggests that when students’ families, schools, community-based organizations, science and technology centers, and institutions of higher education, come together to provide carefully designed learning supports for traditionally underserved students, these learners are noted to have performed at high achievement levels. A multi-disciplinary team of content experts and public and private collaborators must approach the curriculum implied in this challenge. Such a program must also include the potential to engage parents, educators, and relevant community members in authenticating students’ experiences. Informal learning settings P ge 15837.4 outside the framework of schooling offer the potential to stimulate interest, initiative, experimentation, discovery, play, imagination, and innovation in learners. Engaging learners in activities where they test ideas and concepts, apply them to a new situation, and integrate the new knowledge with pre-existing ideas may very well be an approach that can enthuse students to attain the goal of becoming future scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. Sullivan advocated an integrated K-16 approach towards engineering education that establishes long-term knowledge and skill building relationships between K-12 and higher-education settings. It is important to note that the workplaces of today and tomorrow demand skills that are not merely exemplified as technological—logical, analytical, and technical, but also those represented as value skills—creativity, critical thinking, ability to see the big picture, and work with diverse individuals. These are workplace skills mentioned in the U.S. Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report that are essential in the development of our youth as future scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. Educational experiences within the K-12 school settings, colleges, and universities need to engage youth in not only the content knowledge, but also these technological and value skills. Further, the NSF reported that current curricular approaches appear outdated and de-contextualized. Students need to be exposed to inquiry-oriented learning environments as a means of increasing their interest in the STEM fields. The case for fundamentally changing how we introduce students to these fields and careers is strong. This underscores the need to enhance early STEM interest, through in-school and out-of-school experiences, to influence the choice of high-school coursework and options for career and educational pathways. Engineering can serve as a means for the integration and application of mathematics and science in ways that connect youth to the joy of learning, and to applying knowledge and skills to socially relevant challenges.