Research On Engineering Education In Selected K-12 STEM Curricula In The United States

Internationally,policymakers,researchers,and practitioners have shifted their foci towards developing more integrated K-12 curricula.Integrating engineering into diverse subjects like in K-12 STEM education is a case of such moves.Research has shown that engineering is an essential context for effective STEM integration.Despite the significant academic efforts for infusing engineering into K-12 education,policymakers and educators have not yet agreed on how to integrate engineering into other subjects.Due to the lack of consensus,a wide variety of engineering curricula have been developed based on different standards.Unfortunately,the essential features of engineering in these curricula are still not specific.Moreover,because there were no stand-alone engineering standards,curricula adopted different standards of other subjects.Therefore,this study aims to explore the current situation of engineering education in K-12 STEM curricula in the United States.Research questions were formulated around engineering curricula in K-12 STEM education.Further investigation was conducted to test how engineering was presented in some representative elementary school curricula.In order to identify those most influential K-12 STEM curricula that include engineering education and are used widely(in more than one states),different means were used to search and make the decision about what to include in the list(e.g.,searching the Internet,reading the literature,and consulting experts).Finally,there were 35 US STEM curricula materials for K-12 education identified.I explored the characteristics and the standards of these 35 STEM curricula.Then,qualitative content analysis approaches were used to analyze selected three STEM curricula that focus on engineering education.The analysis was based on multi-frameworks to answer the research questions.In addition,a quantitative examination of the content analysis is used to represent the findings.The results of the first research question showed several STEM curricula that focused on engineering education at the K-12 level.Most of the selected curricula have professional teacher development programs and come with engineering toolkit packages.The majority of these curricula are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and meet some mathematics and English language standards as well.Some curricula adopted particular standards such as technology standards,computer standards,or other professional standards.The results of the content analysis that conducted to answer the second research question showed that engineering themes have varied appearance ratios.The selected three curricula were focused on some engineering themes like engineering design,thinking skills,roles of the engineer and applications of scientific and mathematical knowledge in engineering.On the other hand,there was a lack of other engineering themes like communication skills and teamwork,and engineering indicators related to engineering ethics and the impact of engineering on the community.Regarding learning objectives,the results showed that the salient goals present in each curriculum focused on the levels of understanding and application.There was moderate presence of high level learning objectives described in Bloom's taxonomy,like creating and evaluation;they were expected to be present more often in the engineering context.The results also showed that the curricula suggested teachers use a variety of technologies and tools to aid students in learning to engineer.These engineering aids often fall within the simple and natural materials that can be provided at an affordable cost.Only one program used technologies like computer and simulation technology and robots.A complete absence of using new technologies like using 3D printers and augmented/virtual reality in the K-12 selected curricula.Finally,the findings showed that the assessment methods used frequently within the selected curricula were mainly direct observation,quizzes,discussion,and rubrics.The curricula rarely mentioned other forms of assessment,such as written reports or presentations,which could demonstrate deeper understanding and multi-learning outcomes.In short,this study contributes to the literature by presenting an overarching picture of U.S.influential engineering curricula.This study highlighted the strengths and vulnerabilities of some engineering curricula.The indicators included quality,learning objectives,technologies used,supported materials,and assessment approaches at the micro-level.Such findings may encourage and guide policymakers,STEM educators,curriculum developers,and other stakeholders to enhance STEM integration.It may guide the educators and curriculum develops to generate clear and specific standards that to fit their local needs.