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Over the last two decades, a remarkable number of studies have examined the role of engineering education in supporting knowledge and skill building among children. In this paper, we present a synthesis of this literature to evaluate the added value of pre-college engineering design experiences at the elementary level, and ways researchers have gathered evidence of children's development of this knowledge and skills. We have conducted a systematic literature review. The initial search across four different databases with relevant keywords resulted in over 3000 journal articles and conference papers. In a two-rounds screening, by applying the inclusion criteria first to titles and abstracts, and then to the full text, 78 peer-reviewed publications were included in this systematic literature review. We summarized and synthesized empirical evidence of student learning and engagement in engineering design activities, and approaches they were assessed and elicited. The thematic analysis revealed five categories of knowledge and skills: (1) disciplinary content knowledge; (2) engineering design practices, (3) engineering thinking skills; (4) professional skills; and (5) career awareness. Additionally, the assessment and evaluation approaches that were used for each of these categories were identified and discussed. The findings provide collective evidence of variety in student learning opportunities but also suggest the need to carefully define these knowledge and skills. Since a wide range of evaluation approaches were used to capture similar outcomes, we conclude that it is imperative to develop a shared research agenda by carefully defining the knowledge and skills we expect children to learn.

Educators in the twenty-first century need to think of innovative ways to engage and prepare students for current and future challenges while cultivating an interest among students in STEM disciplines. This study sought to investigate the impact of problem-based learning on students' content knowledge and critical thinking towards STEM. This study employed a quasi-experimental repeated measure design. Instruments such as STEM content assessments and a standardized critical thinking test were employed for data collection. Analysis was conducted using a mixed repeated measure between-within subject analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) between problem-based learning and traditional learning groups in regard to their content knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Just as engineering and computational thinking have recently gained increased attention in pre-college school-based education, many museums and science centers have also designed exhibits and experiences to promote computational thinking and engineering learning. Recent reports suggest that computational and engineering thinking can empower each other, and engineering design can be an appropriate context for children's engagement in computational thinking. Previous studies have documented young children's abilities to engage in engineering thinking and other studies have collected evidence of young children's abilities to engage in computational thinking. However, there is little research that explores how children's engagement in both engineering and computational thinking can support each other. Hence, in this qualitative case study, we aimed to examine how 5 to 7-year-old children engage in computational thinking competencies in the context of a family based engineering design activity. This activity was conducted at a small science center exhibit. In our presented findings we map children's enactment of at least one CT competency to children's engagement in engineering design actions.

Refutation texts, which are texts that rebut scientific misconceptions and explain the normative concept, can be effective devices for addressing misconceptions and affecting conceptual change. However, few, if any, refutation texts specifically related to climate change have been validated for effectiveness. In this project, we developed and tested three refutation texts related to climate change. The three texts, which are freely available for other educators and researchers to use, relate to (1) the enhanced greenhouse effect, (2) the distinction between climate and weather, and (3) the nature of ozone depletion and how it is not a major contributor to global warming. Participants in the study consisted of 146 undergraduates enrolled in various educational psychology courses. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed a knowledge pretest, posttest, and delayed (2 wk) posttest. Experimental-group participants read one of the refutation texts, whereas control subjects read an unrelated text. Based on repeated-measures ANOVAs, results indicated that the refutation texts were generally effective in increasing knowledge and addressing the misconceptions that they were designed to address, although results were mixed for the weather versus climate text. Furthermore, there was little regression at the delayed posttest, except for the weather versus climate text (understanding that climate is usually measured over a 30-y period) and for global warming being unrelated to skin cancer. The importance of combining these texts with other instructional activities and simulations is discussed.

Biologically inspired design (BID) in engineering is a convergent, systematic approach that uses analogies from biological organisms to develop solutions for human engineering and design problems. Based on outcomes from prior studies of integrating BID in higher education, incorporating BID into pre-college education is a logical evolution. For effective BID instruction of these convergent concepts in pre-college education, teachers need to be well-equipped with biological, engineering, and pedagogical knowledge, both in general and those unique to the convergent, still evolving discipline. In this paper, we investigate the Professional Learning (professional learning) environment designed to foster engineering teachers' understanding of BID integration in engineering and to determine to what extent the evolving professional learning environment fostered engineering teachers' conceptual knowledge of BID across the three-year project. This design study applies conjecture mapping with design-based research (DBR) to examine a professional learning environment that changed over three summers and its impact on teachers' conceptual understanding of BID integration in engineering. The analysis indicates that a combination of experiential and informal learning experiences along with engagement in a formal design challenge promoted teacher enthusiasm and a conceptual understanding of BID across the three years. Professional learning fostered teachers' understanding of BID integration in engineering and enabled them to integrate BID into their engineering teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased recognition of the importance of computational thinking as a core skill for all students has led many states to adopt and implement computer science standards, with a focus on teaching computational thinking. Consequently, there is an increased need to prepare educators that are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies required to teach computational thinking. In this case study, we present instructional strategies utilized by informal educators (i.e., parents) to facilitate computational thinking amongst five-to-seven-year-old children during two activities (a no-tech and a technology-based activity). The data for this empirical study includes videos of the parent-child interactions during both activities. Through a two-phase coding process (deductive coding, using CT competencies to capture children's CT, followed by inductive coding to identify the emergent themes for the strategies parents used to engage children in CT) we identified productive strategies of: Questioning, Modeling, and Motivation/Encouragement to engage children in five CT competencies.

Research indicates that STEM-integrated curricula and pedagogies have the potential to support student learning, nurture interest in STEM disciplines, and prepare students for future careers (Apedoe et al. 2008). Through engagement in these fields, students can develop the ability to think critically, solve intricate problems, and drive advancement that maintains a steady progression of society (Apedoe et al. 2008). One such instructional pedagogy that works well with STEM integration is problem-based learning (PBL). Problem-based learning is a student-centered instructional approach that emphasizes practical experience in supporting learning (Hmelo-Silver 2004). This article describes an activity where students use the five steps of the engineering design process--Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, improve--to solve a STEM problem-based challenge. The problem scenario in the PBL activity described here engaged fifth-grade students in a six-week challenge to design a filtration system. In this PBL activity, students learned about various states and characteristics of matter, including filtration. This allowed the students to tap into their understanding of the disciplinary core ideas related to structure and properties of matter.

Climate change literacy plays a key role in promoting sound political decisions and promoting sustainable consumption patterns. Based on evidence suggesting that student understanding and interest in climate change is best accomplished through studying local effects, we developed a simulation/game exploring the impact of climate change on the declining water levels in Lake Mead. Because there are few evaluations of educational games using true control groups, this study also presents a randomized field trial evaluating the game. We randomly assigned 119 seventh graders to either a game-based condition or control condition. Students in the experimental group played Losing the Lake; those in the control group viewed an earth science website. Students also completed pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest measures of their content understanding and interest in issues embodied in the game. We found that playing the game resulted in a significant increase in content knowledge, as measured by a 22-item assessment, especially on items related to household conservation and some basic concepts related to the greenhouse effect. The control group showed no effect. Playing the game also resulted in some increase in student interest. The Losing the Lake game illustrates how use of a water theme can be used to make climate change content more meaningful and relevant to students. Furthermore, the study shows, through a randomized control trial, that educational games can result in conceptual development, specifically on water flow (i.e., where drinking water comes from and where it goes once used), water conservation, and the difference between weather and climate. The Losing the Lake game can therefore be useful educationally in various locales as a case study in the nature of drought, climate change effects, and water conservation practices.

Computational thinking can provide a basis for problem solving, for making evidence-based decisions, and for learning to code or create programs. Therefore, it is critical that all students across the K-12 continuum--including students in the early grades--have opportunities to begin developing problem solving and computational thinking skills. Although computational thinking is central to computer science, CT skills, such as "abstraction", "problem decomposition", "algorithmic thinking", "pattern recognition", and "debugging" cut across multiple disciplines, promoting seamless integration in science and engineering (Wing 2016). Engineering design can be a context and approach for fostering computational thinking in formal and informal settings for elementary-age children. Through such learning experiences children can develop 21st-century skills vital for success in STEM+CT (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, computer science) careers. In this article, the authors share an engineering design activity that we employed to engage kindergarten to second-grade students in STEM+CT.

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue shares information about a unit promoting scientific literacy and the engineering design process. The integration of engineering with scientific practices in K-12 education can promote creativity, hands-on learning, and an improvement in students' problem-solving skills. These practices can be enhanced if aligned with mathematics and English language arts standards. Combining math, literacy, and engineering makes learning more inclusive, exposing students to real-world problems while supporting learning through the engineering design process (EDP). The integration of children's literature can model and scaffold engineering practices, which allows teachers to reframe the practices and problems and help students understand real-world issues. The unit presented in this article incorporates five children's books that model and scaffold the EDP for students in grades 3-5: (1) The Cat in the Hat; (2) Harold and the Purple Crayon; (3) What! Cried Granny; (4) Papa's Mechanical Fish; and (5) The Ten Birds. By providing students with real-world problems that pique their interest while they learn, these books can provide teachers with a way to connect abstract science concepts to everyday ideas.

The challenge of preparing students for the information age has prompted administrators to increase technology in the public schools. Yet despite the increased availability of technology in schools, few teachers are integrating technology for instructional purposes. Preservice teachers must be equipped with adequate content knowledge of technology to create an advantageous learning experience in science classrooms. To understand preservice teachers' conceptions of technology integration, this research study explored 15 elementary science methods students' definitions of technology and their attitudes toward incorporating technology into their teaching. The phenomenological study took place in a science methods course that was based on a constructivist approach to teaching and learning science through science activities and class discussions, with an emphasis on a teacher beliefs framework. Data were collected throughout the semester, including an open-ended pre/post-technology integration survey, lesson plans, and reflections on activities conducted throughout the course. Through a qualitative analysis, we identified improvements in students' technology definitions, increased technology incorporation into science lesson plans, and favorable attitudes toward technology integration in science teaching after instruction. This research project demonstrates that positive changes in beliefs and behaviors relating to technology integration in science instruction among preservice teachers are possible through explicit instruction.