Engineering

Connecting Classroom Assessment with Learning Goals and Instruction Through Theories of Learning

In this report section, we discuss the importance of aligning classroom assessments with learning goals and instructional practices to both shape and evaluate students’ learning opportunities. We describe a plausible solution for improving alignment by integrating theories of learning in the design of classroom assessments. We discuss ways in which the specification of theories of learning as learning progressions can improve alignment between classroom assessments and instruction by focusing on the content, task design, and data generated from classroom assessments.

Author/Presenter

Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller

Christopher J. Harris

Year
2023
Short Description

In this report section, we discuss the importance of aligning classroom assessments with learning goals and instructional practices to both shape and evaluate students’ learning opportunities.

Why Is Engineering Design Important for All Learners?

Engineering design systematically identifies needs, wants, and problems and then devises solutions to address them. A central component of our work is guiding students in the engineered design of solutions to local environmental problems.

Songer, N. B. (2023). Why is engineering design important for all learners?. Open Access Government April 2023, pp.300-301. https://doi.org/10.56367/OAG-038-10193

Author/Presenter

Nancy Butler Songer

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Engineering design systematically identifies needs, wants, and problems and then devises solutions to address them. A central component of our work is guiding students in the engineered design of solutions to local environmental problems.

How Do We Design Curricula to Foster Innovation, Motivation and Interest in STEM Learning?

Purpose
The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students' views on meaningfulness, motivation and interest.

Design/methodology/approach
The research approach consisted of mixed methods, including content analyses and descriptive statistics.

Author/Presenter
Julia E. Calabrese

Nancy Butler Songer

Holly Cordner

Daniel Kalani Aina Jr

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students' views on meaningfulness, motivation and interest.

Engineering Connections in Culturally-Responsive Mathematical Modeling Problems

This poster presents findings from design and early implementation work of the NSF DRK-12 project which positions 6th and 7th grade students as decision makers in their own learning, integrating culturally responsive mathematical modeling problems into their regular curriculum. We take a sociocritical perspective on modeling, supporting students in using mathematics to understand their life experiences and, when appropriate, to challenge the existing social order (e.g., Aguirre et al., 2019; Author, 2021; Cirillo et al., 2016; Felton-Koestler, 2020).

Author/Presenter

Corey E. Brady

Hyunyi Jung

Jose David de Leon Alejandro

Chonika C Coleman-King

Zandra de Araujo

Kayla Sutcliffe

Year
2023
Short Description

This poster presents findings from design and early implementation work of the NSF DRK-12 project which positions 6th and 7th grade students as decision makers in their own learning, integrating culturally responsive mathematical modeling problems into their regular curriculum. We take a sociocritical perspective on modeling, supporting students in using mathematics to understand their life experiences and, when appropriate, to challenge the existing social order. By learning to recognize mathematical dimensions of their emerging identities in classroom settings, we hope to inspire excitement about mathematics and boost students’ experiences of mathematical agency.

Innovate to Mitigate: Teacher Role in a Student Competition

The Innovate to Mitigate (I2M) project poses challenges for secondary-school students to design feasible, innovative strategies that mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. Design is informed by research on problem-based learning, pedagogy for which poses demands on teachers. This paper presents preliminary evidence about how I2M teachers supported student teams to engage in science and engineering practices.

Author/Presenter

Gillian Puttick

Brian Drayton

Santiago Gasca

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

The Innovate to Mitigate (I2M) project poses challenges for secondary-school students to design feasible, innovative strategies that mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. Design is informed by research on problem-based learning, pedagogy for which poses demands on teachers. This paper presents preliminary evidence about how I2M teachers supported student teams to engage in science and engineering practices.

Innovate to Mitigate: Teacher Role in a Student Competition

The Innovate to Mitigate (I2M) project poses challenges for secondary-school students to design feasible, innovative strategies that mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. Design is informed by research on problem-based learning, pedagogy for which poses demands on teachers. This paper presents preliminary evidence about how I2M teachers supported student teams to engage in science and engineering practices.

Author/Presenter

Gillian Puttick

Brian Drayton

Santiago Gasca

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

The Innovate to Mitigate (I2M) project poses challenges for secondary-school students to design feasible, innovative strategies that mitigate CO2 emissions and thus global warming. Design is informed by research on problem-based learning, pedagogy for which poses demands on teachers. This paper presents preliminary evidence about how I2M teachers supported student teams to engage in science and engineering practices.

Design Talks: Whole-Class Conversations During Engineering Design Units

Teacher-facilitated whole-class conversations can help elementary students apply the full power of the NGSS science and engineering practices to an engineering design process. In this article we describe and provide examples for five kinds of Design Talks. Each type of Design Talk centers on a different framing question and is facilitated by specific prompts that help students voice their ideas and make connections to others' ideas.

Author/Presenter

Kristen Wendell

Jessica Watkins

Chelsea Andrews

Natalie De Lucca

Molly Malinowski

Vera Gor

Rae Woodcock

Tyrine Pangan

Naina Sood

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

Teacher-facilitated whole-class conversations can help elementary students apply the full power of the NGSS science and engineering practices to an engineering design process. In this article we describe and provide examples for five kinds of Design Talks. Each type of Design Talk centers on a different framing question and is facilitated by specific prompts that help students voice their ideas and make connections to others' ideas.

Comparing Optimization Practices Across Engineering Learning Contexts Using Process Data

Despite an increasing focus on integrating engineering design in K-12 settings, relatively few studies have investigated how to support students to engage in systematic processes to optimize the designs of their solutions. Emerging learning technologies such as computational models and simulations enable rapid feedback to learners about their design performance, as well as the ability to research how students may or may not be using systematic approaches to the optimization of their designs.

Author/Presenter

James P. Bywater

Tugba Karabiyik

Alejandra Magana

Corey Schimpf

Ying Ying Seah 

Year
2023
Short Description

Despite an increasing focus on integrating engineering design in K-12 settings, relatively few studies have investigated how to support students to engage in systematic processes to optimize the designs of their solutions. This study explored how middle school, high school, and pre-service students optimized the design of a home for energy efficiency, size, and cost using facets of fluency, flexibility, closeness, and quality.

Comparing Optimization Practices Across Engineering Learning Contexts Using Process Data

Despite an increasing focus on integrating engineering design in K-12 settings, relatively few studies have investigated how to support students to engage in systematic processes to optimize the designs of their solutions. Emerging learning technologies such as computational models and simulations enable rapid feedback to learners about their design performance, as well as the ability to research how students may or may not be using systematic approaches to the optimization of their designs.

Author/Presenter

James P. Bywater

Tugba Karabiyik

Alejandra Magana

Corey Schimpf

Ying Ying Seah 

Year
2023
Short Description

Despite an increasing focus on integrating engineering design in K-12 settings, relatively few studies have investigated how to support students to engage in systematic processes to optimize the designs of their solutions. This study explored how middle school, high school, and pre-service students optimized the design of a home for energy efficiency, size, and cost using facets of fluency, flexibility, closeness, and quality.