The Essence of Scientific and Engineering Thinking and Tools to Promote It

This article is an attempt to contribute to the discourse on the essence of scientific and engineering thinking by presenting a cognitive framework that is aligned with views from epistemology, cognitive and neurosciences, and supported by empirical data from computational sciences. By merging and synthesizing relevant concepts from these fields, we present a theoretical framework that links scientific and engineering thinking to our typical fundamental cognitive functions, which could then be promoted at early grades. To examine our viewpoint, we designed a multi-year quasi-experimental study involving use of computational tools and teacher professional development to support scientific and engineering practices for grades 7 through 12. A mixed-methods analysis of qualitative and quantitative data on teaching and learning from more than 300 teachers in 13 urban and 2 suburban secondary schools reveals consistent improvements to student engagement and achievement, thereby lending support both to our cognitive framework and computational tools we are suggesting for promoting scientific and engineering practices at K-12.