Engineering Encounters: Where Have the Birds Gone?

• Published in: Science and children Vol. 57; no. 4; pp. 62 - 69
• Main Authors: Easter, Jaclyn, Hollister, Erin, Wilcox, Jesse
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Science Teachers Association 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Animals; Educational Benefits; Elementary School Students; Engineering Education; Grade 3; Instructional Design; Problem Solving; Program Descriptions; STEM Education; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 0036-8148; 1943-4812
• DOI: 10.2505/4/sc19_057_04_62

Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives have received increased attention in recent years (Bybee 2011), the focus is often on science and mathematics (Thornburg 2009). Yet, engineering has been referred to as "the glue that holds the other STEM subjects together" (Thornburg 2009). With the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)," teachers have an opportunity to include engineering in STEM and address the complementary relationship between science and engineering (Kruse et al. 2017; Bybee 2011; NGSS Lead States 2013). Incorporating engineering in the elementary classroom has numerous benefits for students, including: learning to define problems and asking questions more effectively, creatively solving and evaluating problems, and expressing ideas through engineering artifacts (Bybee 2011; Thornburg 2009). Yet, sometimes including these sorts of projects can be challenging for elementary teachers. This article seeks to describe one elementary teacher's journey in incorporating engineering into a third-grade classroom. Additionally, the authors created some strategies elementary teachers can use to guide their design and implementation of projects more broadly.