Framing engineering practices in elementary school classrooms

The introduction of engineering in K-12 education in the United States offers new potential and challenges for schoolsinterested in teaching engineering in the elementary grades. This study examines how a teacher frames engineeringpractices for her students through the teaching of anEngineering is Elementary(EiE) instructional unit. Discourse analysisof conduct was undertaken based on a set of classroom videos and artifacts. The method entails detailed analysis of the talkand actions of classroom members. Codes were developed to characterize the work on framing and engaging in engineeringpractices. Drawing from the materials provided in the curriculum, the teacher in this classroom used a set of discoursemoves (e.g., posing questions, revoicing student responses, giving directions) to frame aerospace engineering as a field thatis dedicated to principled uses of data to support design. This was accomplished by modeling ways of collecting data,controlling variables, and treating anomalies. Classroom activities in support of data use included analysis of scienceconcepts and engineering designs, sharing within and across groups for collective decision making, and comparing data todraw inferences for engineering redesign. The teacher in this study was able to provide learning opportunities in this fourth-grade classroom by developing common foci around science concepts and engineering processes, holding studentsaccountable to common standards of quality in engineering work, and encouraging students to develop agency asengineers.