Page 42 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

LEVERAGING EXISTING STANDARDS 29

Examples of Standards Mapping

Mapping has been used in other disciplines with some success. For instance, the ocean
science community launched a mapping effort in 2004 that culminated, in 2007, with the
identification of seven “essential principles” and 44 “fundamental concepts,” which were then
mapped to NSES (NRC, 1996). The mapping has been illustrated as a matrix in a brochure suit-
able for classroom use or as a resource for curriculum development (NGS, 2007). Since 2007,
an informal network of ocean literacy organizations has continued to refine this approach and
recently released a set of “conceptual flow diagrams” linking the ocean literacy principles to
specific learning goals in four K–12 grade bands (see http://www.coexploration.org/ocean
literacy/usa/ocean_science_literacy/scope_and_sequence/home.html). The diagrams resemble
the concept mapping in the two-volume AAAS Atlas of Science Literacy (2001, 2007).
The ocean literacy mapping exercise has contributed to the establishment of grant programs
at the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA),
has influenced the development of new K–12 and postsecondary instructional materials, has been
incorporated by several states into revisions of K–12 science standards, and has influenced
programming at informal science education institutions (NMEA, 2009; Strang, 2008).
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP, 2009), in concert with more than two
dozen partner organizations, mapped ideas in climate literacy to both NSES and the Benchmarks
to Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993). These efforts were influential in grant decisions by federal
agencies, and several states have indicated that they intend to use the mapping in revisions of
their science standards (Frank Niepold, NOAA, personal communication, February 2, 2010).
Similar mapping exercises have been conducted in neuroscience (SFN, 2008), Earth science
(www.earthscienceliteracy.org), and atmospheric science (http://eo.ucar.edu/asl/pdfs/ASLbro-
chureFINAL.pdf).
As an alternative to adding environmental science to the curriculum, the Resources for
Environmental Literacy series (NSTA, 2007) uses environmental “essential questions” to foster
specific learning goals from NSES and Benchmarks. It was developed by the Environmental
Literacy Council and the National Science Teachers Association.

Mapping Engineering to Other Standards

In theory, engineering concepts, skills, and dispositions could be mapped not only to
standards in the closely related STEM subjects of science, mathematics, and technology, but also
to standards in other subjects, such as history, civics, and art, in which advances in technology
and engineering have been important factors. As attention increases on the importance of K–12
education in preparing young people for jobs and postsecondary education, engineering-related
links to readiness standards for the workforce and college provide another opportunity for
mapping.
In career technical education, for example, the State Career Clusters Initiative (www.career
clusters.org) promotes knowledge and skill statements in 16 areas, including STEM subjects, as
well as architecture and construction; arts, audio/video technology, and communication;
information technology; and manufacturing. A 2007 survey revealed that 23 of 46 states were at
a “mid-level stage” of implementing programs of study consistent with the career clusters
framework (NASDCTEc, 2007).

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.