| NSF Org: |
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 26, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 7, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1454152 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Medhi Ferdowsi
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | March 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | February 28, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $505,375.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $555,375.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $50,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2550 NORTHWESTERN AVE # 1100 WEST LAFAYETTE IN US 47906-1332 (765)494-1055 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
701 W. Stadium Drive West Lafayette IN US 47907-2045 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EngEd-Engineering Education |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
The primary goal of this project is to investigate how grades 5-8 students' engagement in and perceptions of engineering are influenced through participating in engineering challenges that intentionally integrate their personal interests. The merit of this work lies in the discovery of whether appealing to grades 5-8 students' personal interests can improve their perceptions of engineering and make them more likely to pursue engineering as a career. The project work involves engaging teachers and students in research-based engineering education specifically designed to promote inclusivity among underrepresented groups. The research team will interview and observe students to better understand how their engineering project work relates to their own personal interests. The immediate impact of the proposed project is measured in the numbers of teachers and students (especially those underrepresented in engineering) that have an opportunity to participate in the interest-driven engineering activities. Results from the research are potentially transformative for how engineering activities are presented in pre-college classrooms. More broadly, the project informs the design and delivery of inclusive engineering activities throughout the nation.
The working hypothesis for the research posits that, by presenting engineering in broader contexts, more students will be able to identify their own personal interests in the engineering challenge - resulting in a more positive perception of engineering as a discipline with which they identify. The research involved in the project will address the following questions.
Does broadening the context of engineering activities:
1. Appeal to more students' personal interests?
2. Empower underrepresented groups (female and minority) to find personally meaningful connections?
3. Lead to more authentic engagement in engineering practices for all students?
4. Improve students' attitudes and perceptions of engineering?
Using a design-based research methodology, the research team is developing this interest-based curricular approach to engineering while investigating how the approach elicits students' interest and authentic engagement in engineering. The research is comprised of three studies: 1) a students' interests interview study that creates a baseline for students' interests, using discourse analysis to identify themes and underlying similarities in students' interview responses; 2) a classroom simulation study that investigates students' engagement in the interest-based curriculum through simulated classroom implementations (in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art research classroom lab space); and 3) a classroom implementation study that situates the implementation and investigation of the curriculum in real classroom settings. Both the classroom simulation and classroom implementation studies utilize a mixed methods research approach to qualitatively investigate the observed engagement of the students, and to quantitatively analyze the relationships between students' demographic/attitudinal data and their participation in the interest-based curriculum. Findings from all three studies will inform the iterative design and implementation of the interest-based engineering curricular approach.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Overview
Today?s technology-rich world demands a more technically literate society and expands the need for an engineering workforce to tackle some of the world?s biggest problems. Not only does the world need more engineers to solve these problems, it also needs people with diverse perspectives in the engineering workforce. Broader perspectives allow for more robust and equitable engineering solutions that serve the broader population. One challenge in developing this workforce is in recruiting young people into engineering. Stereotypes of engineers and engineering work can deter young people from choosing an engineering pathway, which can often be established as early as middle school when students are selecting math and science courses they will take. This project?s research provides insights into how to have engineering appeal to a more diverse set of students? interests and has resulted in numerous engineering activities and programs that have impacted thousands of students. Some of these activities can be found on Purdue?s INSPIRE resources website (engineering.purdue.edu/INSPIRE/Resources) and on teachengineering.org.
Interest-based Engineering Framework
A framework for integrating a broad set of interest areas (e.g., sports, arts, literature, music, social sciences, games, etc.) with engineering was developed over the course of this project. The purpose of this framework is to help educators think about how to plan engineering activities that appeal to and engage their students? diverse interests. Many engineering activities for pre-college students have been shown to be fun and exciting for students; however, the rollout of such activities over the last 10-20 years still does not seem to have moved the needle on who?s becoming an engineer. This framework confronts this issue under the idea that these engineering activities are fun in the moment like a game, but may not appeal to what students are personally and deeply interested in. Since engineering is all around us in most everything we see in our built and natural world, students should be able to engage in engineering learning in a context that is meaningful to them. The project team developed a survey instrument that helps educators see how an engineering intervention aligns or does not align with students? personal interests. The associated research of this project demonstrates how this interest-based engineering framework works.
Pre-college Student Impact
Thousands of pre-college students participated in engineering activities through this project. The project partnered with the Purdue Athletes Life Success (PALS) program to deliver 10 hours of engineering activities to 400+ students each summer. These students (racially and ethnically diverse) all came from families who qualified for free or reduced lunch. Additionally, the project worked with several elementary teachers to integrate engineering activities with literacy education. Teachers participated in professional development and then were supported in implementing a Novel Engineering activity in their classroom. The Novel Engineering approach is published in the book at the following link and includes examples of this integration from a classroom participating in this project (https://my.nsta.org/resource/121572).
Undergraduate Student Impact
The principal investigator (PI) for this project also integrated the interest-based engineering framework to his teaching of undergraduate students. Most years of the project he taught approximately 120 first-year engineering students. As part of this course, students participated in an engineering design activity that asked the students to design games or educational toys for young children. As part of this project, students were asked to integrate their own interests into the project and include broader societal issues (e.g., educating young children on social/environmental issues). Additionally, the PI also integrated these ideas into a senior capstone design course for Multi-Disciplinary Engineering seniors. These students focused on a Compassionate Design Engineering framework (also partially developed as a part of this project) for choosing problems that related to their interests. This resulted in projects related to supporting children with autism, making race car driving safer, helping those with colorblindness, and an assistive device for gardening. One of these projects won a $1,000 design prize for its potential social impact.
Last Modified: 06/30/2022
Modified by: Morgan Hynes
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