scholarly journals Conceptual connections between science and engineering in elementary teachers’ unit plans

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Pleasants ◽  
Kristina M. Tank ◽  
Joanne K. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Science Instruction ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Curriculum Materials ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Science Concepts ◽  
Unit Plans

Abstract Background Around the world, efforts are underway to include engineering design as part of elementary science instruction. A common rationale for those efforts is that Engineering Design-based Science Teaching (EDST) is a productive pedagogical approach for developing students’ understanding of core science concepts. Effectively utilizing EDST requires that teachers develop design activities that are highly connected to science content so that students can apply and expand their understanding of relevant concepts. In this study, we examine how a group of elementary (grades 3–5) pre-service and in-service teachers incorporated EDST into their planned science instruction. Those teachers were participants in a professional development project aimed at supporting EDST. We examine the ways that participants used EDST, the extent to which engineering design activities were connected to science concepts, and factors associated with those connections. Results Most of the participants in the study developed science units in which an engineering design activity was placed at the end of the unit. Approximately half of those design activities lacked connections to the science concepts in the unit; they were typically related to the topic of the science unit, but did not require the use or development of key science ideas. Eleven percent of participants developed engineering activities with deep connections to science concepts, and 35% developed activities with shallow connections. No differences were found between life science, physical science, and earth/space science units in terms of the extent of conceptual connections. However, we did find that participants who utilized and adapted published engineering curriculum materials rather than make them from scratch were more likely to have unit plans with higher levels of conceptual connections. Conclusions Our findings suggest that elementary teachers need additional support in order to effectively utilize EDST in their classrooms. Even within the context of a supportive professional development project, most of the engineering activities developed by our participants lacked substantial connections to the science concepts in their unit plans. Our findings highlight the value of high-quality curriculum materials to support EDST as well as the need to further expand the curriculum resources that are available to elementary teachers.

ILED: Iowa Leadership in Engineering Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Ken Turner ◽  
Anne Turner ◽  
Brenda Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
High School ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Development Opportunity ◽  
Professional Development Opportunity ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Design Activities

Based on results of a 2018 Iowa Science Teacher Section survey, the Iowa Science Foundation of the Iowa Academy of Science funded a professional development opportunity focused on engineering design (ISF 19–01). A free one–day workshop was created for school districts in Iowa, and the first was held in fall of 2019. During this workshop, teachers learned more about engineering design, experienced engineering design activities from kindergarten through high school levels, and brainstormed facets of engineering design. The day ended with guiding teachers in writing their own engineering design activities. The workshop was successful and well–received according to a post–workshop survey using a five–point rating scale. Comments included “I have a better understanding of how to use engineering design in my classroom” (4.56/5.00), “I was able to make good progress in developing an engineering design activity” (4.67/5.00), and “I would recommend this workshop to friends and colleagues” (4.78/5.00. Participating teachers learned skills that will impact more than 1,100 students, and additional workshops continue to be scheduled.

scholarly journals EVALUATING STUDENT DESIGN ACTIVITY IN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECTS

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Petkau ◽  
D. D. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
University Of Manitoba ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The University

Student design projects in engineering courses are usually short term conceptual design problems. Upon completion of the projects it is difficult to assess which design activities had the greatest contribution to the success of the design. In the fall of 2006, students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year Design Trilogy courses at the University of Manitoba were asked to keep extensive design journals. Design teams consisted of multiyear students completing various industry projects. Student design activities recorded in the journals were coded. Data were compared between design teams and between students in the different years of study. This paper describes the evaluation process and reports on the preliminary findings.

TPACK In Situ: A Design-Based Approach Supporting Professional Development in Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1186-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Pareto ◽  
Sara Willermark
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
School Context ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Action Context ◽  
Context Specific

Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) is a well-known conceptual framework for what knowledge teachers need in order to teach successfully using technology. Most recent TPACK studies address assessment of teacher TPACK by quantitative self-reporting surveys. Such an approach provides little guidance for teachers in how to develop their everyday teaching practice. We argue for a revival of the original TPACK design-based approach and propose a design-based, operationalization of the framework that is situated in action, context specific, and integrated in practical teaching. The approach has been developed, evaluated, and validated in a school development project in a Nordic Elementary School context using design-based research. The project engaged more than 100 professionals: in-service elementary teachers, school administrators and researchers, and more than 1,000 students during 3 years. The theoretical development evolved from rich descriptions of 38 didactic design as delimited units of teaching including planning, implementation, and evaluation of specified learning tasks acted out in practice. Contributions include framing teaching practice as design activity and a TPACK in situ model and methods targeting reflective practitioners. Our proposed approach addresses current limitations of TPACK and is aligned with advocated professional development methods.

scholarly journals The cognitive experience of engineering design: an examination of first-year student stress across principal activities of the engineering design process

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Nolte ◽  
Christopher McComb
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Physical Modelling ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
Student Stress ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Cognitive Experience

Abstract The engineering design process can produce stress that endures even after it has been completed. This may be particularly true for students who engage with the process as novices. However, it is not known how individual components of the design process induce stress in designers. This study explored the cognitive experience of introductory engineering design students during concept generation, concept selection and physical modelling to identify stress signatures for these three design activities. Data were collected for the design activities using pre- and post-task surveys. Each design activity produced distinct markers of cognitive experience and a unique stress signature that was stable across design activity themes. Rankings of perceived sources of stress also differed for each design activity. Students, however, did not perceive any physiological changes due to the stress of design for any of the design activities. Findings indicate that physical modelling was the most stressful for students, followed by concept generation and then concept selection. Additionally, recommendations for instructors of introductory engineering design courses were provided to help them apply the results of this study. Better understanding of the cognitive experience of students during design can support instructors as they learn to better teach design.

scholarly journals DESIGN DAYS BOOT CAMP 2.0: IMPROVEMENTS AND CONNECTIONS TO CEAB GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Howcroft ◽  
Igor Ivkovic ◽  
Matthew J. Borland ◽  
Maud Gorbet
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Boot Camp ◽  
First Year ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Graduate Attributes ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Intended Learning Outcomes

Engineering design is a critical skill that all engineering students are expected to learn and is often the focus of final year capstone projects and first-year cornerstone projects. In the Systems Design Engineering Department at the University of Waterloo, engineering design is introduced to the students during an intense two-day Design Days Boot Camp. Design Days was originally conceived of and run in Fall 2016. The Fall 2018 version, Design Days 2.0, included substantial improvements focused on adding two additional design activities and a writing activity, strengthening the connection with first year content, and providing a greater variety of team experiences. The methods of achieving the nine intended learning outcomes of Design Days 2.0 are discussed and connected to CEAB graduate attributes. This demonstrates that meaningful learning can be achieved during a two-day boot camp that will starts students on the path towards professional engineering. Other departments are encouraged to use the presented intended learning outcomes, graduate attributes connections, and Design Days 2.0 descriptions as a template for their own design boot camp. Finally, Design Days 2.0 inspired ideas for further improvements including the incorporation of a software-focused design activity, adding budgetary constraints, and providing an opportunity for student reflection.

scholarly journals Distributed Leadership: Would Knowing More About It Then Have Produced a More Effective Professional Development Design?

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-85
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Walcot
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Instructional Interventions ◽  
Personal Reflection ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Text Production ◽  
The Relationship

This article is a personal reflection on the relationship between leadership and the results of a professional development project. The project was designed to change elementary teachers’ instructional interventions in text production from a conventional approach to one more congruent with process writing.This reflection is framed by the current literature on "distributed leadership" which was not available when the project began or during the life of the project. It gives some suggestions about how the project might have been organized differently, as well as how interaction with the participants might have been made more explicit.

Modeling and Analysis of an Ontology of Engineering Design Activities Using the Design Structure Matrix

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavan Kumar ◽  
Gregory Mocko
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Design Structure Matrix ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Modeling And Analysis ◽  
Structure Matrix ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Design Structure ◽  
Design Activities

In this paper, a published ontology of engineering design activities is modeled and analyzed using the design structure matrix (DSM). Specifically, the ontology analyzed in this research provides a basis for describing engineering design activities and subsequently design processes in an unambiguous manner. However, the proposed ontology lacks a computational representation and the information flow between activities is not adequately described. Thus, complex design processes cannot be represented using the ontology. The design activity ontology is modeled and analyzed using the DSM. First, the information flows between design activities are identified and their inter-relationships are described. Four different cases for representing the flow of information between design activities are modeled. In Case 1 and 2 feedback between information output and information input within an activity is captured. Whereas, in Case 3 and 4 it is assumed that no feedback between output and input exists within an activity. DSM analyses, including partitioning and tearing, are performed on the model. Observations and conclusions drawn from these analyses include the further decomposition of design activities, grouping of design activities, and lack of information flow between seemingly related activities. Based on these observations, recommendations are made to refine the ontology. Finally, additional research is required for developing a computational ontology of design activities.

The Way of Information to Knowledge Required in Design Activity

2015 ◽  
Vol 760 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Eugen Pămîntaş
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Improve Design ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Specialized Form ◽  
A Company ◽  
The Way

Engineering design work is based on the use of information in their specialized form of knowledge. How information becomes knowledge, how knowledge is extracted, documented, stored, communicated and disseminated are still so many problems to be solved in order to improve design activities of a company.

scholarly journals Applying Engineering Design Ontology for Content Analysis of Team Conceptual Design Activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2467-2476
Author(s):  
Tomislav Martinec ◽  
Stanko Škec ◽  
Jelena Šklebar ◽  
Mario Štorga
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Technical Process ◽  
Fine Grain ◽  
Component Design ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Technical Solutions

AbstractStudies of design activity have been dominantly reporting on different aspects of the design process, rather than the content of designing. The aim of the presented research has been the development and application of an approach for a fine-grain analysis of the design content communicated between designers during the team conceptual design activities. The proposed approach builds on an engineering design ontology as a foundation for the content categorisation. Two teams have been studied using the protocol analysis method. The coded protocols offered fine-grain descriptions of the content communicated at different points in the design session and enabled comparison of teams’ approaches and deriving some generalisable findings. For example, it has been shown that both teams focused primarily on the use of the developed product and the operands within the technical process, in order to generate new technical solutions and initial component design. Moreover, teams exhibit progress from abstract to concrete solutions as the sessions proceeded and focused on the functional requirements towards the end of the sessions.

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