Informal Pathways to Engineering: Interim Findings from a Longitudinal Study

Paulsen, Christine Andrews; Cardella, Monica E.; Jones, Tamecia R.; Wolsky, Marisa

doi:10.18260/p.24299

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…While little research has studied learning engineering in out-of-school environments, some evidence from the literature has shown that engineering interest, engineering knowledge and engineering abilities may increase in these environments (Paulsen et al 2015;Dorie et al 2014;Kotys-Schwartz, Besterfield-Sacre, & Shuman, 2011). As previously mentioned, computational thinking has a strong connection with engineering and engineering thinking.…”

Section: Computational Thinking In Out-of-school Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capturing the Computational Thinking of Families with Young Children in Out-of-School Environments

Ehsan

Cardella

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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For the past two decades, researchers and educators have been interested in integrating engineering into K-12 learning experiences. More recently, computational thinking (CT) has gained increased attention in K-12 engineering education. Computational thinking is broader than programming and coding. Some describe computational thinking as crucial to engineering problem solving and critical to engineering habits of mind like systems thinking. However, few studies have explored how computational thinking is exhibited by children, and CT competencies for children have not been consistently defined. Hence developing and implementing effective CT-related activities for children can be difficult. Therefore, exploring what computational thinking looks like for children is critical.Children can engage in, and learn to engage in computational thinking in both formal and informal settings. In this study, we are interested in exploring what computational thinking might look like in settings that approximate children's everyday experiences. More specifically, in order to investigate what computational thinking looks like when enacted by young children, we are interested in observing children and their family members engaging in open-ended engineering activities that are play-based. To accomplish this, we observed and video-recorded 5-8 year-old children and their families creating different structures together using large foam blocks that are out for free play at a science center. Based on our observations and analysis of the video-recordings, in this paper we report on the computational thinking practices and competencies children and families demonstrated while engaged in engineering play. Our findings can provide information needed to create a framework for promoting computational thinking in young children in informal settings.

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Section: Computational Thinking In Out-of-school Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capturing the Computational Thinking of Families with Young Children in Out-of-School Environments

Ehsan

Cardella

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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“…Middle and high schools have historically faced challenges introducing engineering into the curriculum in an inclusive and authentic manner. Because these students are still flexible about their career decisions 3,4 , programs that peak interest can still influence students' college and career plans. An inclusive approach could have significant impact on the diversity of the engineering workforce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the Impact of Service-Learning Projects in Engineering: High School Students' Perspectives

Jones

Trusedell

Oakes

et al.

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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“…This paper focuses only on the homeschool student population; interim findings from the larger study can be found in other papers (e.g. [9]). With the surveys and interviews, rather than using the term "engineering," we discussed the children's interests and engagement in "creating, designing, and building."…”

Section: The Informal Pathways To Engineering Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Informal Pathways to Engineering: Middle-School-Aged Homeschool Students’ Experiences with Engineering (Fundamental)

Jones¹,

Cardella²,

Paulsen³

et al.

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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Informal Pathways to Engineering: Interim Findings from a Longitudinal Study

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Capturing the Computational Thinking of Families with Young Children in Out-of-School Environments

Capturing the Computational Thinking of Families with Young Children in Out-of-School Environments

Measuring the Impact of Service-Learning Projects in Engineering: High School Students' Perspectives

Informal Pathways to Engineering: Middle-School-Aged Homeschool Students’ Experiences with Engineering (Fundamental)

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