Engineering in Elementary STEM Education

Bolstered by new standards and new initiatives to promote STEM education, engineering is making its way into the school curriculum. This comprehensive introduction will help elementary educators integrate engineering into their classroom, school, or district in age-appropriate, inclusive, and engaging ways. Building on the work of a Museum of Science team that has spent 15 years developing elementary engineering curricula, this book outlines how engineering can be integrated into a broader STEM curriculum, details its pedagogical benefits to students, and includes classroom examples to help educators tailor instruction to engage diverse students. Featuring vignettes, case studies, videos, research results, and assessments, this resource will help readers visualize high-quality elementary engineering and understand the theoretical principles in context.

Book Features:

• Frameworks to help teachers create curricula and structure activities.
• A focus on engaging the diversity of learners in today’s classrooms.
• Experiences from the nation’s leading elementary education curriculum that has reached 13.3 million children and 165,000 educators.
• Go to eie.org/book for videos, assessment tools, reproducibles, and other instructional supports that enliven the text.

Christine M. Cunningham is founding director of Engineering is Elementary and a vice president of the Museum of Science, Boston.

"The book will appeal to preservice teachers who are just beginning to develop their teaching pedagogies and to those more veteran teachers who want to freshen their instructional methodology."

—Teachers College Record

"an exceptional resource...the slightly auto‐biographical tone might be highly appreciated by general audience and in fact makes it a welcome reading for teachers... It will inspire and encourage readers to appreciate the “E” in STEM education and explore its benefits towards preparing a next generation of citizens."

—Science Education

“Wondering how to infuse engineering into your teaching and curriculum? Want to understand how you can include the 'E' in STEM education? Here’s the book for you! Christine Cunningham has designed and structured a text that addresses these and other frequently asked questions by teachers and administrators concerning engineering in the elementary classroom. With the aplomb and persistence of an engineer, Christine has considered the problem, developed a process to solve it, then implemented, evaluated, iterated and adjusted the curriculum, instruction, and assessment models until ultimately finding a solution. Engineering in Elementary STEM Education is that solution.”
—From the Foreword by Richard A. Duschl, Waterbury Chair Professor, Penn State University

“We have put the principles and frameworks from Engineering in Elementary STEM Education into practice and to great success! Schools or districts looking to introduce engineering in ways that enhance science and mathematics learning can use the inclusive teaching strategies and concrete real-world examples in this book to innovate for the reality of today’s classrooms.”
—Linda Curtis-Bey, executive director of STEM, NYC Department of Education

“If you care about meaningful and equitable ways to integrate the 'E' in STEM education, this should be your first resource. Grounded in her decades-long, distinguished career in engineering education, Dr. Christine Cunningham lays out an innovative, ambitious, and achievable vision for elementary school engineering that engages all students. She provides vivid classroom examples, design principles based on sound research, and accessible resources so that all stakeholders will find inspiration to become catalysts for change in the STEM educational contexts they work in.”
—Heidi Carlone, Hooks Distinguished Professor of STEM Education, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Foreword by Richard A. Duschl

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I: INTRODUCING ENGINEERING TO ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
1. Why Make Engineering Part of Elementary Instruction? Why Elementary Engineering?
2. Putting the Spotlight on the “E” in STEM Education
   STEM Disciplines and Definitions
   STEM in K-12 Schools – Together but Not (Yet) Equal
   Relationships Between S, T, E, and M in Elementary Classrooms
   Integrating Science, Engineering, and Mathematics in an Elementary Classroom

PART II: CONSIDERATIONS FOR  CURRICULUM DESIGN, INSTRUCTION, AND LEARNING
3. Core Engineering Concepts:  What Does Engineering Look Like in the Elementary Classroom?
   Core Engineering Concept: Engineers Use an Engineering Design Process
   Core Engineering Concept: Materials and Their Properties
   Core Engineering Concepts in the Classroom: First Graders Design Hand Pollinators
4. Engaging in Authentic Engineering Work
   Engineering in NGSS: Out of the Shadows but Not in the Limelight
   NGSS Engineering Practices 
   Engineering Habits of Mind: Putting Engineering in the Spotlight
5. Engineering Design Principles for Inclusivity
   Category 1: Set Learning in a Real-World Context
   Category 2: Present Design Challenges That Are Authentic to Engineering Practice
   Category 3: Scaffold Student Work
   Category 4: Demonstrate That "Everyone Engineers" and Everyone Can Engineer
6. Teaching Engineering
   Teacher 1: "I Don’t Have Any Extra Time!"
   Teacher 2: "There Are so Many Materials to Prepare!"
   Teacher 3: "How Am I Going to Manage My Students’ Varied, Creative Designs?"
   Teacher 4: "My Students Won’t Like It When Their Designs Don’t Work"
   Teacher 5: "I Don’t Know How to Grade My Students on Engineering"
   Teacher 6: "I Have Kids in My Class That Will Be Left Behind."

PART III: LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
7. Impacts of Engineering Education
   Impacts on Students
   Engineering in Classrooms
   Impacts on Teachers
   Impacts on Schools
8. Conclusion: Engineering Engineering Education
   Ask
   Imagine
   Plan
   Create
   Improve

References

Index

About the Author 

2017 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education

Go here for videos of elementary classroom engineering and other instructional resources.