Page 87 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

72 STANDARDS FOR K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

drawn from those identified as appropriate for secondary level engineering education by Dr. Ken
Welty, University of Wisconsin, Stout, who conducted a curriculum analysis that was included in
a recent report on K–12 engineering education (NAE and NRC, 2009). Only modules and units
directly related to engineering were reviewed. The standards documents included in the review
were developed by the professional organizations representing the STEM disciplines. The Delphi
research studies were identified through searches of electronic databases and were selected based
on their research orientation and relevance to secondary level engineering education.

The review of engineering and technology philosophy included: Engineering Philosophy
(Bucciarelli, 2003); Thinking Through Technology: The Path Between Engineering and
Philosophy (Mitcham, 1999); The Introspective Engineer (Florman, 1996); Engineering as
Productive Activity (Mitcham, 1991); The Social Captivity of Engineering (Goldman, 1991); The
Eco-philosophy Approach to Technological Research (Skolimowski, 1991); Deficiencies in
Engineering Education (Ropohl, 1991); What Engineers Know and How They Know It (Vincenti,
1990); Ethics Engineering (Martin and Schinzinger, 1996); Discussion of the Method:
Conducting the Engineer’s Approach to Problem Solving (Koen, 2003); Autonomous Technology
(Winner, 1977); and Technology as Knowledge (Layton, 1974).
The curricula included for analysis were: A World in Motion (SAE International); Design
and Discovery (Intel Corporation); Materials World; Engineering by Design; Engineering the
Future; Exploring Design and Engineering; Ford Partnership for Advanced Students;
INSPIRES; Project Lead the Way; and The Infinity Project. The curriculum standards reviewed
for this study included: Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993/2009), Criteria for
Accrediting Engineering Programs (ABET, 2000), National Science Education Standards,
(NRC, 1996), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000), Standards for
Technological Literacy (ITEA, 2000). In addition, the 2005 National Academy of Engineering
study, The Engineer of 2020, was also reviewed. The five Delphi research studies reviewed
were: (a) Childress and Rhodes (2008); (b) Harris and Rogers (2008); (c) Childress and Sanders
(2007); (d) Smith (2006); and (e) Dearing and Daugherty (2004).

The researchers developed a standard process for reviewing each set of documents, which
was reviewed by two of the three researchers. The reviewers identified “engineering themes” in
the narrative, that is, elements in the narrative that were described as important to engineering
and applicable across various engineering disciplines. At this stage in the process, the decision
was made to be inclusive and identify themes that would later be analyzed and refined through a
systematic, analytic procedure by the research team. Each reviewer recorded the theme,
supporting narrative, and page number in a table. After the independent reviews were completed,
the results were compared and differences were reconciled.
From the preliminary list of engineering themes, all three researchers independently rated
what they considered to be core engineering concepts. To the extent possible, the reviewers
selected concepts distinct from the more “process-oriented skills” and “social/interpersonal
disposition” aspects of engineering. The three lists were then compared for continuity and
subjected to criteria to meet the following established definitions of “engineering,” “core,” and
“concepts”:

• Engineering: defined by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET) as the knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences, gained by study,
experience, and practice, is applied with judgment to develop ways to use, economically,

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