WIP: Introducing engineering principles into PreK-6 through a service learning partnership

Final Paper pdf 123KB

We report on an interdisciplinary project in which pre-service teachers and engineering students worked collaboratively to design and deliver engineering lessons for elementary school students. We describe the approach and preliminary results for two participating populations: freshmen engineering students and pre-service teachers. Specifically, we explored the following research questions: 1) Does the development and implementation of engineering lessons for elementary students affect education students’ a) knowledge of engineering; b) beliefs about the incorporation of engineering in elementary school instruction; and c) comfort and motivation to teach engineering? 2) What do education and engineering students perceive as the benefits and challenges of collaborating to develop and teach engineering lessons to elementary students, and how do they characterize the impact on the elementary students? We provide preliminary findings and discuss the results.

Author(s):

Stacie Ringleb    
Mechanical Engineering
Old Dominion University
United States

Jennifer Kidd    
Teaching and Learning
Old Dominion University
United States

Pilar Pazos    
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Old Dominion University
United States