Page 55 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

40 STANDARDS FOR K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

If supporters of improvements in K–12 STEM education (e.g., federal agencies, business and
industry, foundations) champion these guidelines, they could have a rapid, positive effect on the
development of K–12 engineering curricula that would be based on a more focused and more
representative idea of the practice of engineering. Guidelines could provide a framework for
assessment development in engineering as well as lay the groundwork for the possible devel-
opment of content standards. If guidelines were incorporated into in-service and pre-service
teacher education, prospective and current teachers would be prepared to create lesson plans that
incorporate engineering principles. The same guidelines could be a useful resource for educators
in informal education settings.

RECOMMENDATION 2. The U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation,
Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other agencies with
interest in engineering research and education should fund the development of guidelines for K–
12 engineering instructional materials. Development should be overseen by an organization with
expertise in K–12 education policy in concert with the engineering community. Other partners
should include mathematics, science, technology education, social studies, and English-
language-arts teacher professional societies; curriculum development and teacher professional
development experts; and organizations representing informal and after-school education.
Funding should be sufficient for an initial, intense development effort that lasts for one year or
less, and additional support should be provided for periodic revisions as more research data
become available about learning and teaching engineering on the K–12 level.

The committee suggests that the guidelines be made available online and periodically revised
as data become available on the impact of engineering education on student learning in engineer-
ing as well as in science, mathematics, and technology; improvements in technological literacy;
awareness and interest in engineering as a career option; and how students develop design ideas
and practices over time.
Because guidelines would not have the same standing as standards, teachers, developers of
instructional materials, and others may not follow them unless they are required to do so by
funding agencies, state law, or local policy. In addition, if guidelines are, or are perceived to be,
leading to a silo approach to K–12 engineering education, they could arouse resistance to the
integration of engineering material and ideas into mathematics, science, and technology edu-
cation.

Step 3: Boost Research on Learning

Developing consensus on core concepts, skills, and dispositions in K–12 engineering
education and creating guidelines for the development of instructional materials will be
important steps toward more consistent and higher quality K–12 engineering education.
However, the committee believes that continuous improvement will require ongoing research to
answer fundamental questions about how young people learn and understand engineering. This
was an important point in the research-related recommendations in Engineering in K–12
Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects (NAE and NRC, 2009). We
endorse those recommendations, urge that their relevance to the infusion and mapping ap-
proaches described in this report be considered, and suggest that they be expanded.

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